Dallas Poll was a jeweler who worked as a prop maker on The Lord of the Rings trilogy, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia films, and Avatar. On May 4, his home in Paraparaumu was raided twice by thieves who took the sword he wielded when filling in as Aragorn’s double, a statue of Sam and Bill the Pony, and a full Stormtrooper outfit, not to mention pretty much anything of value, monetary or sentimental. Don’t even get me started on the cruel significance of this theft happening on “May The Fourth Be With You.”
“We have been well and truly done over,” Poll said. “They seemed to know what they were looking for.”
In addition to the items mentioned above, the thieves took gifts that he received from actors and crew on the films he worked on. According to Stuff.co.nz, they also stole a safe containing, “his passport, a diamond, backup hard drives containing about 25,000 photos of family holidays, a spare key to his Audi, his iMac desktop computer, a new astrograph telescope, and four guitars, including a vintage Gibson.”
“It is devastating. They took sentimental items – a lot of personal stuff I really want back,” he said. “To them it’s probably just a job and a laugh. They probably don’t give a toss, but victims, the police and I do.”
Weta released this statement on their Facebook page, “If you hear of any of these items being offered for sale, please help Dallas and report to the NZ police.” And I echo their plea; I really want Poll do get his stuff back and I really want these thieves brought to justice. Please read the full article on Stuff.co.nz, and keep an eye out for questionable retailers.
Anyone with any information should contact Kapiti Police at (04) 296 6800 or phone Crimestoppers (Toll Free) at 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-nz.org/?page_id=29.
