On the Trail of a Silver Thief

A sideboard in Mary Doffermyre’s Atlanta home holds some of the pieces the thief left behind.

A German silver flower vase.

Doffermyre in her dining room.

The adjacent butler’s pantry was almost entirely cleaned out.

An antique English fish set.

Blane Nordahl’s mug shot, taken in August 2013.

The French doors where the thief broke in.

Noted Civil War collectors Eileen and Bo DuBose at their home in Atlanta.

The DuBoses’ dismantled silver epergne went undetected in a storage trunk.

The thief cleaned out one set of the DuBoses’ sterling flatware but left a second set he deemed less valuable.

An archival photo of a stolen 1734 mug linked to George II.

Nordahl’s defense attorney, Bruce Harvey, in his Atlanta office.

Detective William Royster of the Aiken, South Carolina, Police Department (left) and a Nassau County Police officer apprehend Nordahl on August 26, 2013, at 10:01 a.m. in Hilliard, Florida.

Silver items left behind at the Doffermyre home, too small to bother taking.

The Doffermyres’ hollow-handled silver flatware set, also left behind.

The thief overlooked this rare silver spice set owned by Bo DuBose.

A silver ladle in the shape of a conch shell belonging to DuBose.