An art thief made off with a $25,000 unique piece of glass art and police are working to find out who did it.

The theft sounds like a scene from an "Ocean's Eleven" movie. But this is no movie. For Chihuly Collection Executive Director, Andy Schlauch it’s more like a nightmare.

“I would more or less say I’m heartbroken,” he said. “I was completely shocked to find out that someone had taken a piece from our collection.”

Schlauch said someone stole the unique glass art some time on Sunday when the gallery was open to the public. Someone on the cleaning crew noticed it was missing Monday morning.

“That’s why we’re looking through the footage right now to see if somebody had swiped it prior to close and ran out and somehow got it from under our nose,” Schlauch said.

The thief was so determined to make off with the art, they snatched the tile the art was secured down to.

Terry Smith has met Chihuly and is a fan of his work. He can’t believe someone actually pulled this off.

“That’s pretty gutsy to walk in there and steal it. Plus I would think it’s pretty fragile. It seems like if you were trying to take something you might damage it,” he said.

Smith’s wife, Cathy is just as shocked.

“I just can’t believe someone would go in and steal something. Especially in broad daylight,” she said.

Schlauch said it happened in broad daylight with a security guard on duty and lots of cameras watching. Now investigators hope that footage will reveal who did it and get the pricey glass back on the shelf where it belongs.

All of the proceeds from ticket sales and retail go to support community arts programs. So the employees at the museum say this stolen art hurts the entire community.

If you have any information about this stolen art, contact St. Pete Police.