Fetus stolen from exhibit

LOS ANGELES – Two women stole a preserved 13-week-old fetus from an acclaimed exhibit at the California Science Center, authorities said Tuesday.

The fetus, its tissues infused with polymers in a process called plastination to prevent decay indefinitely, was part of a traveling display, “Body Worlds 2: The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies.”

A surveillance camera captured the women removing the fetus from an unlocked display case on the third floor early Saturday during the round-the-clock closing weekend of the exhibit, police Detective Jimmy Render said.

Other people were inside the room at the time, but they may not have been aware of the theft, he said.

“There’s no indication at this time of the motives behind the stealing of the plastinated fetus,” Render said. “There had been no threats.”

The theft was the first ever involving “Body Worlds” displays, which have been seen by millions of people worldwide.

“We are deeply concerned and disappointed by the theft of this invaluable and irreplaceable specimen,” Angelina Whalley, director of the Institute for Plastination, said in a statement.

“Although it is a tragedy that the fetus never made it to life, it is a teaching treasure and educational tool which we preserved for the benefit of public knowledge,” she said.

“Body Worlds 2” and its predecessor, “Body Worlds,” use plastinated human bodies and organs to provide information on human anatomy, illnesses and issues such as smoking and obesity.