In a strange case of robbery, a Utah woman gulped down a pilfered ring worth "several thousand dollars" in a bid to conceal it.
On Friday, Aug. 29, evening Orem police were set the task to demystify the robbery of a valuable ring from Zales Jewelers at the University Mall. The same day, a young man had come to the store and was seeing the ring. The 30-year old man in question goes by the name of Bryan Ford.
Ford apparently took the jewelry and sauntered out of the Zales store. He was chased by a Zales employee toward the parking area, but Ford managed to get away in the Pontiac G6 which was waiting for him. The car was being driven by his 25-year old accomplice Christina Schlegel.
The suspects had covered the car's number plate with pink-colored sticky notes to avoid detection per Lt. Craig Martinez of Orem Police Department. However, the car was spotted 30 minutes later by an officer who stopped the vehicle at Ventana Apartments, which is at a distance of 1.5 miles from the mall.
Orem police then fetched an employee from Zales to the spot to identify the suspect. According to Martinez, the employee "positively identified" Ford as the same individual who made off the ring and post this both Schlegel and Ford were arrested.
The police searched the vehicle for the ring based on Ford and Schlegel's versions. The suspects suggested that the ring may also have been tossed out of the car window. However, the police were unable to locate the ring.
"After being sent on several wild goose chases, we found out that Christina had swallowed the ring in [an] attempt to hide it when they were pulled over by police," revealed Martinez.
Schlegel underwent an X-ray at a local hospital, which confirmed that she had indeed ingested the ring.
Both Schlegel and Ford have been sent to the Utah County Jail on felony theft charges. However, the ring is still to be recovered from the woman's stomach.
