Pearl-Covered Oscar Gown Believed Found

The missing pearl-covered $150,000 gown worn by Oscar-winning actress Lupita Nyong'o at the Academy Awards has been returned to the West Hollywood hotel from which it was taken, apparently by the thief who stole it, authorities said.

Nicole Nishida of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said investigators were in possession of a dress similar to the one worn by Nyong'o.

The white dress believed to be the same one was found abandoned under a sink in a bathroom at the London West Hollywood hotel, the same hotel where the actress had been staying when it was stolen on Wednesday, Nishida said.

The person who had returned the dress had taken it to the downtown Los Angeles garment district and found out that the pearls were fake, Nishida said.

The dress, a white Francisco Costa for Calvin Klein gown decorated with 6,000 pearls, was a showstopper on the red carpet before Sunday's Academy Awards ceremony.

Nyong'o won the Oscar for best supporting actress in 2014 for her portrayal of an abused slave in that year's best-picture winner, "12 Years a Slave."

She also appeared in the Liam Neeson thriller "Non-Stop" and will be seen in the highly anticipated "Stars Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens."

Kate Larsen contributed to this report.

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