A book thief is now at large after stealing a first edition copy of Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez' "One Hundred Years of Solitude" in an exhibit over weekend. The said copy of the book was displayed in Columbia's capital during the Bogota International Book Fair which closed yesterday.

BBC reports that the first edition copy of Marquez bestseller, which was loaned by the book's owner, bookseller Alvaro Castillo, was stolen during the the most important book fair in Latin America. The fair was dedicated to the late author, with theme "Macondo" in reference to Garcia Marquez' fictional town in his 1967 novel.

Castillo said that he purchased the book in back in 2006 from a bookshop in Montevideo, Uruguay's capital. Garcia Marquez later signed the rare copy of the book, with a special dedication to Castillo, saying, "To Alvaro Castillo, the old-book seller, as yesterday and forever, your friend, Gabo."

The signed first edition copy of the novel is reported to be worth at least $60,000, but Castillo said that for him it is priceless, citing the book's sentimental value. The copy was reportedly enclosed in a locked cabinet. The vicinity of the exhibit is heavily monitored by security cameras, so how the book was stolen is a big mystery.

Originally published more than four decades ago, "One Hundred Years of Solitude" tells the story of the Buendia family and the founding of the town Macondo which spanned to seven generations. Since its release, the book, which showcased the author's magical realism literary style, had garnered recognitions worldwide and had been translated into 37 different languages.

Garcia Marquez is Colombia's most celebrated and critically-acclaimed author. The author won his Nobel Prize in Literature in 1982 for "for his novels and short stories, in which the fantastic and the realistic are combined in a richly composed world of imagination, reflecting a continent's life and conflicts." His other notable works include "Love in the Time of Cholera", "Of Love and Other Demons", and "Memories of My Melancholy Whores."

The popular and well-loved Colombian author died of pneumonia at the age of 87 on Apr. 17, 2014. He is survived by his wife and two sons. His last work, entitled "We'll Meet Again in August" was believed to be left unfinished, as reported by The Star. Upon his death, the Columbian president hailed the author "the greatest Columbian who ever lived."

Meanwhile, police is currently reviewing security footages around the Corferia vicinity where the fair was held, as reported by Prensa Latina.