Help! My diamond ring is missing!

July 21, 2006 6:29 AM

Where is my girlfriend's diamond ring? We think it got stolen....

...Actually we are sure it is...

She had her carpet steam cleaned a couple of days ago. Apparently, her ring, which was sitting in a jewelry box was missing the next day and the only possiblity of where it might be is in the possession of the carpet cleaners.

My question is what actions should we take to either get the ring back or to make this carpet cleaner's business suffer. Obviously we are going to call the police, but is there anything else we can do?

Better Business Bureau? Local TV News?

Also, how can I research the business to find out if they are operating under fraudulant pretenses?

Chances are the ring is long gone to a pawn shop, but I want to exhaust ALL options to find it.

This is very stressful for my lady (and myself) so any help or assistance would be appreciated.

posted by Gankmore to law & government (7 comments total)

Police first. Always police first when something's stolen. Police will also put out a description to local pawn shops to look for the ring.

And yeah, you should've called them the day you discovered it was missing!
posted by SpecialK at 6:38 AM on July 21, 2006

Call the company and politely inform them that the ring went missing while their workers were present. You could subtly hint that if they don't investigate then the police will. I think you may have better luck retrieving it than if you went to the police first.
posted by Gungho at 7:14 AM on July 21, 2006

Go to the police first, because any possible insurance claim will want a police report, even if the PD won't pursue it.
posted by raedyn at 7:16 AM on July 21, 2006

Please bear in mind that the business owners, and most of the employees, would have had nothing to do with this and will probably be horrified to learn of the incident. They would also probably appreciate knowing of the problem, though there may not be much they can do without solid proof.
posted by amtho at 7:27 AM on July 21, 2006

I once left a mobile phone in my hotel room in Portland, OR (my own stupid fault). When I called the hotel, it wasn't listed in lost property, but when I subtly hinted that the police would therefore have to be involved (for, as raedyn correctly points out, I would need a report for insurance purposes) the phone magically turned up...
posted by gene_machine at 7:28 AM on July 21, 2006

I hope that you hired an bonded and insured carpet cleaning company. If not, this is a good lesson in why you always should.

If your company was bonded and insured, please call the company in addition to calling the police.
posted by MeetMegan at 8:20 AM on July 21, 2006

On a side note, this is an excellent example of why people should not have jewelry boxes sitting out in plain view. When I asked for advice on stuff like this here, the clear consensus was that it was OK for unimportant jewelry, but the good stuff should go in a case at the back of a drawer somewhere.

I'm not trying to be preachy, because I'd never thought about it, either. It's just so easy for someone to reach in, grab a ring, and take off.
posted by MrZero at 8:37 AM on July 21, 2006