LOOKING BACK : The People...

Hopi tribal officials believe they are close to solving the 13-year-old theft of their altar pieces from the Arizona village of Mishongnovi (View, June 8).

Angeline Williams is the ailing 79-year-old matriarch of the family responsible for keeping ceremonial items safe. (It is believed the items were sold on the burgeoning black market for Indian artifacts.)

After her story appeared in The Times, tribal officials received more than 50 calls and a dozen letters. One call resulted in the tribe and the Williams family joining forces to hire a Los Angeles private eye to work the case.

“We’ve found some strong leads and I’d say that within 30 days we’ll be turning the information over to the FBI,” says Leigh Jenkins, head of the Hopi office of cultural preservation.

Jenkins says the story also resulted in the repatriation of three Kachina masks held by people who were unaware of their religious importance.

“It’s been very significant for the tribe to get these things back,” says Jenkins. “We’re seeing a lot more sensitivity among the public to what these articles meant to us.”