Cairo — Just several days after authorities announced that a rare, 3,000-year-old golden bracelet had vanished from a restoration lab at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, the fate of the artifact has become clear: It was stolen by a restoration worker who sold it for less than $4,000, and was then melted down and lost forever.

Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities issued a statement on Tuesday saying it had referred the case to public prosecutors and other relevant law enforcement agencies to take the necessary measures to recover the artifact.

The statement noted that some photos that had circulated online were not actually of the missing bracelet, which was "a golden bracelet adorned with spherical lapis lazuli beads, belonging to King Amenemope."

Photos that circulated online

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