DNA and vehicle-tracking help French investigators recover stolen Renoirs and makes arrests

DNA evidence left on a protective cover helped French investigators recover two stolen Renoirs and expose what they suspected were plans for another art heist, according to a French prosecutor. The two paintings, "Portrait of Madame Colonna Romano" and "Young Woman at the Well," were taken from the Renoir Museum in Cagnes-sur-Mer on the French Riviera on September 8. The paintings suffered minor damage to the frame and a tear, respectively, valued at 4.2 million euros ($4.7 million).

Four men were charged with preliminary offenses of organized theft and criminal association. One of the paintings was found abandoned in a protective sleeve, and DNA from the cover matched a 29-year-old man already under investigation for drug trafficking. Police traced the suspect's vehicle and found he had gone to a home shortly after the theft.

Vehicle tracking data showed the suspect and a 41-year-old accomplice went to the home of a third man shortly after the theft. Police surveillance revealed the 29-year-old visited the Maeght Foundation in Saint-Paul-de-Vence shortly after the heist. The suspect then met with a fourth man known to police from previous art theft and forgery cases.

Both the 29-year-old and the 41-year-old have been arrested, while the other two suspects were released under judicial supervision.