Talk about your long, strange trips. A toilet that once graced the Marin County bathroom of Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia and was ripped out, fought over in the courts and finally moved to Sonoma for auction, to be sold to a Canadian gambling outfit, has been stolen.
The salmon-colored commode was swiped earlier this month as it awaited shipment in a Sonoma driveway along with three others and a bidet.
It's unclear if it was taken by a fan who had staked it out or an unknowing thief remodeling a bathroom, said Henry Koltys, who bought Garcia's Nicasio home in 1997 and was selling the appliances for charity.
"It was pink, had a short bowl and a brass handle," Koltys said. "And it was a Kohler."
A police report said the pilfered potty once stood in Garcia's master bathroom and afforded the user simultaneous views of Mounts Tamalpais and Diablo, "adding to its value."
Koltys could not confirm that Garcia ever sat on it, but said it was quite likely.
Garcia owned the house from 1993 to 1995. He died in 1995 in a Marin County drug rehab center at 53.
"It was in the master bathroom," Koltys said. "It would have been his personal head."
Police had no leads or suspects.
Online casino Goldenpalace.com, which bought the toilet March 2 for $2,550, offered a $250 reward to get it back.
Koltys said he had planned to sell the toilet and other odds and ends from Garcia's house, including an industrial-grade cooking stove and stereo equipment, to benefit San Francisco-based Sophia Foundation, which helps children of divorce.
The software company founder removed the items from the house after buying it for $1.39 million and placed them in storage, he said.
Koltys sued the new owners for turning over the property to the Garcia estate, which in turn halted the auction, he said.
The dispute was resolved last year and Koltys moved everything to his Sonoma home.
He posted more than 50 Garcia items on eBay, getting more than 10,000 hits, he said.
More than a dozen people bid on the toilet, he said.
It went to the casino, which also bought actor William Shatner's kidney stones for $25,000 and paid $28,000 for a grilled cheese sandwich that reportedly had the image of the Virgin Mary on it, Koltys said.
The items are part of a traveling marketing exhibit for the casino, he said.
The toilet was about to be shipped when it vanished, Koltys said.
"They're not happy about it," he said. "Maybe it was a prank and someone will give it back."
Dead fans were at once fascinated and repulsed by the situation.
Sebastopol record store owner Jonathon Lipsin, who worked for Garcia as a gardener and collects rock memorabilia, said the toilet would appeal to hardcore Dead fans, who are known for their zeal.
However, he said it would have limited historical significance.
Still, he said he wasn't surprised to hear someone stole it.
"It's a little gross," Lipsin said. "But I could see it at a rock 'n' roll museum, too."
Just where the toilet will land remained a mystery.
Sgt. Greg Miller said police had little to go on and no reason to believe it would be recovered.
"If somebody tries to sell it as Jerry Garcia's toilet, there's a possibility we could get it back," Miller said. "Frankly, I wonder if they even know what they have."
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