This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2014, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Orem police are waiting to recover a reportedly stolen ring — from a woman's stomach.
On Friday evening, a Zales jewelry store employee at the University Mall tried to chase down a man who had been looking at a valuable ring, according to an Orem police news release. The piece of jewelry was worth several thousand dollars.
But the suspect escaped, getting into an awaiting Pontiac G6 with a female driver, and they took off, police say.
About a half hour later, a Utah Valley University officer stopped a car matching the Pontiac's description, with a man and woman inside. Orem police brought the Zales employee to the scene, and she identified the man in the car as the one who took the ring, according to the news release.
The man and woman were arrested and brought to the police department. Officers searched for the ring based on the suspects' stories, such as it being tossed out the car window or possibly still being in the vehicle, but they could not find it, said police Lt. Craig Martinez.
Then, after "several wild goose chases, we found out that [the woman] had swallowed the ring in attempt to hide it when they were pulled over by police," the release adds.
At a local hospital, an X-ray confirmed that she had, indeed, swallowed the ring, the release adds.
Both she and the man were booked into the Utah County Jail under suspicion of theft.
Martinez on Sunday indicated authorities were still waiting to recover the ring.
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