LONDON (AP) – British police said Sunday they found a flatbed truck and crane that were apparently used in the theft of a $5.2 million Henry Moore sculpture from the artist’s estate north of London.

The truck and crane, discovered in the area on Saturday night, were filmed by a security camera as they took the two-ton “Reclining Figure” bronze sculpture from the Henry Moore Foundation estate in the county of Hertfordshire, police said.

Police fear the thieves may have stolen the 1969/1970 work Thursday night to melt it down and sell for scrap metal, even though it could earn far more money if sold as a work of art.

Chief Inspector Richard Harbon of Hertfordshire Police said the statue would be hard to sell because it well known.

“This is not opportunist theft,” Harbon added. “These are people who knew what they were doing, knew what they were after. A very, very audacious theft.”

Police were still searching for the second vehicle used in the theft and the three suspects, including one who wore a hooded jacket and one who wore a baseball cap. They said the video footage and a tip from the public would help in the search.

Moore created some of modern art’s most recognizable sculptures, including large, abstract works cast in bronze or carved from stone, using fractured human forms as metaphors for landscapes.

The prolific British artist, who died in 1986 at age 88, established and endowed a foundation in 1977 that operates from Perry Green, his 70-acre country estate and studios 30 miles north of London.

The foundation is reassessing security after the theft, said Gareth Spence, its spokesman. The estate, which has gates and alarms, had never before had a piece of Moore’s art stolen.

The foundation said it was offering a “substantial” reward for information leading to the work’s recovery. It did not offer a specific figure.

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On the Net:

Henry Moore Foundation: http://www.henry-moore-fdn.co.uk