Jewelry Thief's Tool of Choice: Fishing Rod

In the end, man made off with Versace necklace worth $800
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 4, 2020 3:21 AM CST
'Bold' Thief Goes Fishing for Versace Necklace
The thief and his rod.   (Victoria Police)

A man managed to steal a Versace necklace from a high-end store in Australia without ever stepping foot inside. That's because the unknown assailant's tool of choice was a fishing rod. "It's quite bold … I've not seen someone use a fishing rod to commit a burglary in the past," Victoria Police Senior Constable Bede Whitty tells ABC Australia. Still, it was no easy effort. The man in a blue sweater, caught on surveillance video last month, spent about three hours trying to hook the $800 necklace on a mannequin after breaking a hole in a shop window of Le Style Boutique in Melbourne, police said in a Tuesday release.

Shop owner Steven Adigrati says that the man was able to chip a hole in the glass without triggering the alarm, but may not have realized that the necklace he was after was costume jewelry. "The temptation was there: gold, bright, iconic Medusa head" but "this particular necklace looks a lot more expensive than what it is," Adigrati tells ABC. "Hook, line, and sinker, I guess. He did it," he adds, per CNN. The man—Caucasian, about 5'9", aged 40 to 50, with short, fair hair that is receding—ultimately used two different sizes of rods before nabbing the necklace after 2am on Feb. 24, according to police, who are searching for him. (More theft stories.)

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