An El Greco recovered in Spanish museum theft

March 3, 1980

A painting by the Renaissance artist El Greco, stolen from a Spanish museum last year, has been found in the checked-baggage department of Madrid's international airport, police sources said Sunday. Fourteen people had been detained on suspicion of trafficking in stolen art treasures, the sources said.

The canvas, a minor work entitled "El Salvador," was stolen from Caceres Museum in western Spain last May, along with other paintings worth a total of about $1.5 million.

Three youths were charged with the theft, but many of the paintings, including the El Greco, were not recovered.