Missing for 20 years, Los Angeles police recover O.J. Simpson's stolen Heisman

Los Angeles police have recovered a stolen Heisman Trophy honoring retired American football star O.J. Simpson that had been missing for over 20 years, officials said on Tuesday.

The trophy, stolen from the University of Southern California campus in July 1994, was recovered by LAPD detectives on Dec. 16, police said in a statement.

The stolen Heisman, the highest award in collegiate football, was a duplicate given to the university in 1968 following Simpson's performance as the school's running back.

Police are investigating the theft, they said, but did not release further details, such as where the trophy was found.

The Los Angeles Times reported that detectives last month sought a search warrant from court for the phone records of a person they believed was connected to the theft.

Simpson, a retired Pro Football Hall of Fame running back for the NFL's Buffalo Bills, was acquitted in 1995 of murdering his former wife and her friend Ronald Goldman in Los Angeles. He later lost a wrongful death case brought by the victims' families.

Simpson is now in prison on a 2008 armed robbery conviction related to the robbery of two sports memorabilia dealers at a Las Vegas hotel.

(Reporting by Curtis Skinner in San Francisco)