Thieves Steal Miss Washington's Crystal Crown

Keith Krueger/Miss Washington Pageant/AP Photo)

What is a beauty queen without her crystal tiara?

The reigning Miss Washington is missing her crown and all of her pageant regalia after a thief stole her car.

Brittney Henry, 24, packed her car the night before an early morning charity event in order to save herself  "a groggy morning."

But the next morning, when Henry stepped outside of her Edgewood, Wash., home, she found her car was gone.

The vehicle was found undamaged, abandoned five miles away. But everything needed to transform Henry into Miss Washington was swiped from the car - from her crown and sash, to her tanning lotion and Invisalign Braces, she said.  Her purse was also in the car.

"They had taken all my business cards, but they laid out three in plain view as their way of saying 'ha ha ha,'" Henry told ABCNews.com. "It's definitely someone who knew what they were doing when they were doing it."

The Miss Washington crown is rare; only one of the handmade produced each year and the cost to replace the patented finery it is $500. But Henry still hopes she'll get it back and she's doing the leg work to try to make that happen.

The thief or thieves visited 15 stores and ATMs in a short time span after the car was stolen, making purchases with Henry's credit cards.  The beauty queen has now visited each of the stores, including WalMart, Lowes, and various gas stations. And she is hoping the stores will turn over surveillance video to police.

Henry, who after being crowned Miss Washington committed to work as a volunteer for one year, said she can't properly do the job without her crown, sash and gowns.  As Miss Washington, she frequently visits low-income schools to encourage children to stay in school and work towards higher education.

"Any person can walk in and talk to them," she said, "but the crown and sash lights up their faces."