Dallas woman's missing portrait turns up in Uptown bar 12 years later

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When her house was burglarized, a University Park woman believed a portrait of her that was taken from the home would never be found.

The portrait was remained lost for 12 years. Then, something remarkable happened.

The portrait was found just a few miles away perched on the wall inside an Uptown Dallas bar. It's now back in Betsy Daniels' home.

The family is thrilled to have what will be a family heirloom back in their possession, but they're still amazed by the circumstances that led to its recovery.                

Betsy Daniels had the portrait painted in 1957 along with her siblings, Sally, Laurie and Walter. Her picture hung in her University Park home until 2006 when a burglar tore the house apart, according to her nephew, Mark Ramsay.

“They took a lot of jewelry and a lot of obviously valuable things,” Ramsay said. “But they also took this portrait. Of course, we have no idea why they did that.”

The portrait was gone for more than a decade. Then, came somewhat of a miracle. A few weekends ago, Betsy Daniels' daughter was in town from Atlanta. She went out for drinks with some friends at an Uptown Dallas bar called Bowen House.

“One of her friends said, 'Hey, that picture looks a lot like your mom!' And Katie turns around and says, 'That is my mom!'” Ramsay said.

The owner of Bowen House says he bought it from one of his customers who was an antiques dealer. He says he bought it for $200 to fit perfectly in a space in his bar that's now blank.

On Monday morning, owner Pasha Heidari gave the portrait back to Daniels.

“To know that she has it back, to know that her children will have it after she's gone, and that the original four still exist is pretty amazing,” Ramsay said.

The family and the bar owner are not interested in questioning the antique mall owner where the portrait came from. They're sure that over all these years it has been bought and sold, but somehow, stayed in Dallas.