The shoes, one of four pairs used for the 1939 movie classic, were stolen from a glass case at the Judy Garland Museum in her hometown of Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005 and bosses have been trying to track down the treasured memorabilia ever since.

A team of police scuba divers was recruited last month (Jun15) to explore rumours suggesting the heels were placed in a sealed container and dropped into the Tioga Mine Pit, which has since filled with water, but their search during the Wizard of Oz Judy Garland Festival proved unsuccessful.

Now a wealthy donor from Arizona has promised the hefty reward in return for credible information about the exact location of the slippers and the perpetrator's name as the 10-year anniversary of the theft approaches in August (15).

John Kelsch, executive director of the Judy Garland Museum, reveals the slippers were insured for $1 million and could be worth double or triple that figure now.