DENVER: A reporter for KMGH-TV, the ABC affiliate in the Mile High City, tracked down a moon rock thought to be missing since the 1970s. It wasn’t missing to John Vanderhoof, a former governor of Colorado who was presented with the lunar souvenir by astronaut Jack Lousma Jan. 9, 1974, the station’s Web site said. The governors of all 50 states were presented with moon-rock plaques following the 1972 Apollo 17 mission. Then President Richard Nixon directed the dispensation, which included 135 foreign heads of state.
The reporter was motivated to call the former governor after a professor at the University of Phoenix challenged his students to track down the moon rocks. Vanderhoof had his hanging on the wall of his home office. It is said to be worth $5 million on the black market.
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“TV Stations Finds Missing Moon Rock”
Vanderhoof, 88, said he didn't know what to do with the display once he left office so he simply decided to take it with him.
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