Is the solid-gold eagle statue stolen in B.C. really worth $7.5M?

A recently filed lawsuit in B.C. suggests that a golden eagle statue that was the target of a bizarre heist two years ago was not worth millions of dollars as its owner, a one-time wannabe realityTV star, had claimed.

In 2016, Ronald Shore made headlines when he went public with the story of how he had been the victim of a brazen and violent attack by two masked thieves outside a Ladner, B.C., church. He claimed they made off with a diamond-encrusted, golden eagle statue that he said was worth $7.5 million, as well as a silver eagle “decoy” that was worth less.

Shore had commissioned their creation for an international treasure hunt contest he had created to raise money for cancer research. Shore attended the church that night because a performance coach who works with pro athletes was giving a motivational talk there and Shore wanted to see if he might be interested in buying the statue or becoming a fundraising partner.

Last month, Forgotten Treasures International Inc., the company Shore founded to administer the treasure hunt, filed a lawsuit in B.C. Supreme Court against several insurers (Lloyd’s Underwriters, Endeavour Insurance Services Ltd., Hub International Canada West ULC, Hub International Ltd., and Mark Loewen) for denying a claim he filed after the loss of the two statues. In the lawsuit, Shore wrote that the appraised value of the golden statue at the time of the theft was $930,450.

Shore did not respond to messages Thursday seeking clarification on the discrepancy in the value of the statue. Reached briefly by phone, Shore’s lawyer, Matthew Cowper, said he was aware of the discrepancy but did not provide further comment.

A spokeswoman for Delta Police said Thursday the investigation into the heist is ongoing but had no further information. A police sergeant told the Post in 2016 that investigators were challenged by a lack of physical evidence.

When news of the heist became public in 2016, some on social media questioned whether Shore, who made headlines over a decade ago for his multiple failed attempts to get on the realityTV show The Apprentice, might be involved in the caper, either for publicity or to scam insurers.

But Shore vehemently denied the suggestion at the time, saying “it’d be 100 per cent not in my interest to have (the eagle) stolen.”

According to the recent lawsuit, Shore says he intended to sell the eightkilogram solid-gold eagle statue in order to finance the $1-million grand prize for the person who completed the treasure hunt.

The lawsuit states that on May 29, 2016, Shore left the church and was returning to his car when he was hit on the head and robbed of a backpack containing the two statues. (Shore previously told reporters that the eagles had been kept separate).

Shore chased one of the assailants, who had got into a truck, and was dragged about 200 metres before he fell to the road.

Shore is seeking $400,000 for the golden eagle and $53,750 for the silver eagle. The defendants have not replied to the lawsuit and the allegations remain untested in court.