Delaware officials can’t find antique Persian carpet

State officials say they are still looking for a $12,000 Persian carpet that went missing from the Delaware governor’s mansion more than a decade ago.

The state auditor’s office said Thursday that attempts to locate the prized Kerman carpet, which was donated to the state in 1998, have been unsuccessful. Officials say the carpet was discovered missing when the donor arranged to visit the Woodburn mansion in Dover to see it. After a lengthy search, the state told the donor in 2009 that the carpet could not be found.

The auditor’s office says it was asked by the donor again last year to renew efforts to find the carpet.

The Division of Historical and Cultural Affairs says the carpet was never formally entered into its antiquities collection.