An "angel" conveniently took them back to heaven.
Who was this "angel?" (The same "angel" that sits atop Mormon temples in place of any cross)
Who are angels according to Joseph Smith? And particularly who was Moroni?
Answer: "Moroni, who deposited the plates in a hill in Manchester, Ontario County, New York, being dead and raised again therefrom, appeared unto me, and told me where they were, and gave me directions how to obtain them." (Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 119)
Did you realize that this "angel" of whom the Mormon religion is based upon is a 'ghost'?
So who was Moroni per Smith? Why, he was a deceased spirit. A ghost. A ghost was the jumpstarter of Mormonism!
Also, why would Smith even need "gold plates" to translate anything? After all, he didn't have original New Testament manuscripts when he rifled through that and made hundreds of changes in the KJV? (Imagine that: translating a KJV English Bible into English -- and not simply paraphrasing it for a more "modern" rendering)
Was Moroni once a man, as we are?