According to the Tampa Bay Times, the box was one of dozens filled with rare books that Whitelock brought to the show on Thursday. The boxes were left in the locked convention center overnight, but when Whitelock returned Friday morning to prepare for the show, he noticed that one box was missing.

The box in question contained two copies of Amazing Fantasy #15– the first appearance of Spider-Man, a CGC 5.0 priced at $19,995, and a 4.0 priced at $15,995.  The collection also included Amazing Spider-Man #1 priced at $8,500, an Incredible Hulk #1 priced at $14,995, an Uncanny X-Men #1 priced at $7,000, and a Brave and the Bold #28 rated at 7.5 priced at $15,000. The box also contained another 17 Silver Age comic books, including a Strange Tales #110 – the first appearance of Doctor Strange.

"I'm sick over it," Whitelock told the Tampa Bay Times. "In more than a decade of doing this at more than 100 shows, I've never had anything like this happen. I don't know if someone stole them, or picked up the wrong box by accident while we were unloading, or if I misplaced them somehow, but this is a very unique set of books that is definitely not going to go unnoticed if someone has it, especially not around here."

Whitelock worked with the security at the convention center to see if anything was captured on the center’s cameras, but was told nothing useful was seen. Whitelock said the items are insured.