Yesterday afternoon, the Stranger received a worrisome email: two paintings by Seattle artist Autumn Tranquilino had been stolen, and there are no leads as yet.

The works were on display in the Fremont Space Building, originally hung for the October 5 first Friday Fremont Art Walk. Tranquilino only discovered that the paintings had been taken after a business owner who rented space in the building saw that one of them was missing, and called Tranquilino to let her know. That was on the following Wednesday, Oct. 10.

When Tranquilino started looking into the matter, she found out that security camera footage showed a person coming in from the garage, going directly to the second floor where the paintings were located, and ultimately leaving with them. Unfortunately, Tranquilino was unable to retrieve a copy of the footage to file a police report; she was told "there were tech issues and it got erased." She says the maintenance man who saw the video before it was erased, Chris Marlow, described the perpetrator as "a caucasian male in his mid-20s."

One of the paintings, The Man on the River, dates back to early in Autumn’s painting career, is from her private collection, and wasn't even for sale. In fact, Tranquilino says it holds special meaning for her. She describes it as that first artwork you create, that when you look back, "you know your work is worth something, that you could probably take it to another level. It was my monumental piece that I held onto.” She says it's not about how much the paintings are worth, but of their deeply personal value to her as an artist.

If you have any information or tips, reach out to Autumn via email, or via her website. "Honestly, I’m not really looking to bust anybody, I just want the stuff back."