I had a similar experience some 25 years ago at the Ft. Washington show. Mike Williams was helping in the booth, and it was a very busy Saturday morning. One fellow, who I recall looked a bit shady from the get-go, asked for a look at the pride and joy of my inventory, a '33 Goudey PSA 7 #92 Gehrig. I reluctantly handed it over and made a classic mistake by being diverted by someone else who wanted to look at a card. Yes, when I turned back, this jerk and Lou were gone.
Eventually, Bob Schmerir organized the local cops, reports were filed, my show ruined and perhaps my faith in humanity frayed. It was not a complete loss after some insurance recovery, but not soon after I stopped setting up at shows. If the card is not recovered, I hope you have some kind of insurance protection.
Sorry to hear about Festberg. His auctions were always fun, no graded cards, of course, inflated claims, but always some jewels if you looked carefully. I remember picking up a E90-1 Jackson in about gd condition for less than a grand.
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