inside. this time, he does enter through the same door the thieves would enter through the very next night. the man appears to go through some paperwork at the guard desk, then disappears for about three minutes inside the museum. out of view of this particular security camera. it s unclear what he was doing, or why he was there in the middle of the night. investigators want to know if this video was some sort of dry run for the real thing. they say the car, seen in the video, even matches the general description of the vehicle seen parked outside of the museum the night of the theft. the fbi released the tape hoping the public can help identify the mystery man. could this man have anything to do with the break-in on the night of the heist? cowhy did the museum security guard let strangers in to the museum two nights in a row? rick abbott who said he was handcuffed during the heist has never been charged in connection with the crime but never been
moment rick arrived at work. he learned his usual partner had called in sick. they couldn t find anyone else so they paired him with a daytime gallery guard. when i got there, my partner was there or, well, i into you him. i didn t know him very well. i knew him from just around in the locker room and he was i m told the only person they could get. so i figured i d take the first round. reporter: that first round takes longer than usual. the fire alarm goes off for no apparent reason. so does another alarm on the fourth floor. after all that, rick returns and the gallery guard takes his turn making the rounds. the clock reads 1:24 a.m. and rick is alone at the guard desk. suddenly the night takes a dangerous turn.
hope they don t burn the place down. reporter: he couldn t see, couldn t hear and he had no idea what was happening upstairs. all he knew was that his museum was unguarded and about to be robbed. it all happened so fast, he never had a chance to hit the one panic button by the guard desk. he knew no one was coming to help. did thieves know that as well? it appears they did, since they were in no rush to get out. it is interesting. they took the guards after they handcuff and tape them and brought them to the basement. about 24 minutes elapsed before we see them again. reporter: motion detectors place pd throughout the building picked up their trail for nearly an hour and a half. but that didn t matter. those motion detectors weren t connected to police outside. they only alert the guard sitting at the computer by the
so they paired him with a daytime gallery guard. when i got there, you know, my partner was there. well, i knew him. i didn t know him very well, i knew him from just around the locker room. he was i m told the only person they could get. so i figured i would take the first round. that first round takes longer than usual. the fire alarm goes off for no apparent reason. so does another alarm on the fourth floor. after all that, rick returns. and the gallery guard takes his turn making the rounds. the clock reads 1:24 a.m., and rick is alone at the guard desk. suddenly, the night takes a dangerous turn. cops rang the doorbell. and i could see them on the outside camera walking down the
realized how vulnerable he really was. i was panicking. i didn t realizes i was panicking but i was completely panicking. the thieves lead rick and his partner down to the basement to different areas. rick is taken to the boiler room and cuffed to an electrical box. his eyes and mouth were duct taped and he feared for his life. he was afraid that they were going to set the place on fire after they were done. maybe because i was right across from the boiler. but that was my predominant fear was, god, i hope they don t burn the place down. he couldn t see, couldn t hear and he had no idea what was happening upstairs. all he knew was that his museum was unguarded and about to be robbed. it all happened so fast, he never had a chance to hit the one panic button by the guard desk. he knew no one was coming to help. did thieves know that as well?