I must apologize for the lateness in my reply. My notes were only recently complete after a handful of attempts to correlate information with investigators from Redding active in 1969. Here is what I was able to discover about the theft of (to use your phrasing) the “Hoogech Artifact”.
In an article dated March 20th, 1969, we see that Mr. Kyte Dempsey was among 22 individuals arrested in a protest-turned-riot regarding the legal status of Native American persons in the western territories, though Dempsey's nationality itself is listed as White American of European decent. Mr. Dempsey's name appears in several other police reports of disturbances and civil unrest in the greater Shasta County area, so it is my personal opinion that he was the one to turn the protest into an act of violence.
Internal police notes, retrieved at the request of the Bernard Asylum after the internment of Mr. Dempsey, state his bail was posted by a Ms. Shaughnessy, although I suspect this was a pseudonym and no further evidence exists of Ms. Shaughnessy.
Dempsey's name appears again four days later, in a separate police report. Local authorities in the Weaverville township found the man half naked on a side street, jibbering incomprehensibly and almost entirely unresponsive. He was taken back to jail and was brought to the Bernard Asylum the next day where results of testing were of an extreme psychological break with no notable chemical or physical stressor.
As you have suggested, this time frame indeed allows for Dempsey's involvement with the theft of the artifact, which occurred on the 22nd of March. I have to advise however that though Dempsey has a history of assault charges against the police he had no known connections to other criminal activities. Police investigating the loss of the artifact have stressed that the skill needed to perform the crime would make it an impossible task for an amateur, if the theft was even possible at all. Even with assistance, no alarms were tripped within the building and neither the guards or cameras installed for the exhibits security were able to detect any intrusion. As part an internal investigation a guard on the day shift earlier in the week mentioned a Native American grouse woman and a male coyote matching Mr. Dempsey's appearance who approached the museum angry about the historical accuracy of exhibits, the guard alleges that the woman made threats against the museum claiming her ancestors would help return artifacts to the native cultures that they were stolen from – this allegation was not factored into official investigations at the scene were method of entry is still undetermined.
The artifact originally belonged to the ancient Yurok tribe and it seems relevant to mention odd legends of the tribe's unique psychedelic drugs used in ritual celebration. I have included reference to books recording specific legends and reports dating from 1855 in regards to the mysterious properties these drugs allegedly held – though the drugs pre-date modern testing facilities and Yurok culture exclusively forbids sharing the drugs with those outside their tribe on spiritual grounds.
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