DNA on a Painting's Protective Cover Helped Recover Two Stolen Renoirs

NPR reports that DNA left on a protective painting cover helped French investigators recover two stolen Renoirs, and that the same inquiry uncovered what they suspected were preparations for another art heist. The account comes from a French prosecutor.

It's the cover that makes the story. Something whose entire job was to shield a canvas from harm became the trace that helped give the paintings back. The second half stays hedged: what investigators found is described as suspected preparations, not a completed theft.