A Pair of Very Bad Jewelry Thieves Learn That Crime Doesn't Pay — and Neither Does Appaling Stupidity

OREM, Utah (TheBlaze/AP) — Bryan Ford, 29, was examining a ring worth more than $4,000 at a Zales jewelry store on Friday night, the Daily Herald reported.

Then Ford allegedly took the ring from the store in Orem, about 45 miles south of Salt Lake City, investigators said.

But Ford was chased by an employee as he got into a car driven away by 25-year-old Christina Schlegel, police said.

Unfortunately the pursuing employee noticed that the license plate of the Pontiac G6 getaway car was covered over.

Fortunately the job was done with pink sticky notes, the Daily Herald reported.

Image source: KSL-TV

Not surprisingly officers shortly thereafter stopped a car matching the employee's description and arrested both suspects on suspicion of felony theft.

Problem was...no ring.

“At the time, our officers were unable to find the stolen ring,” Lt. Craig Martinez of the Orem Police Department told KSL-TV, noting they were "sent on several wild goose chases."

More from the Daily Herald:

Police said that during interviews with the suspects, Ford admitted to stealing the ring. He said that he thought he had dropped the ring in the car after stealing it, but Schlegel admitted to swallowing the ring before they were stopped by police. Schlegel said that Ford told her that he would pay her to drive while he committed the theft, according to police.

Sure enough, an X-ray of Schlegel's stomach was taken — and there it was.

X-ray reveals stolen ring. (Image source: KSL-TV)

No report yet as to how the ring will be retrieved.