Call him the one that got away with a Versace necklace.
Police in Australia are asking for the public’s help in catching a man who allegedly stole an expensive necklace off a mannequin using a fishing rod, in a bizarre early morning burglary last month.
The incident happened at a high-end store in downtown Melbourne on Feb. 24, Victoria police said in a news release. Investigators have released CCTV video of the angling burglar in action, in hopes that someone will recognize him.
The video shows a man in his 40s or 50s inserting a fishing rod through an apparent hole in the shop’s glass window.
“It appears that the burglar was fishing for nearly three hours before landing his catch,” police said.
They added that he managed to snag the necklace around 2 a.m. that morning.
The man broke a hole in the glass and used two different rods before he managed to snag the necklace, police told Australia’s ABC News. The necklace itself was worth about $800 Australian.
“It’s pretty outrageous and courageous,” shop owner Steven Adigrati told ABC. “To think he went back once, then twice, with a fishing rod and a hook, to make a hole in the window then capture that necklace. I was pretty shocked.”
The necklace was one of Versace’s Medusa-faced pendants on a gold chain, Adrigrati told ABC. An image he provided resembles a crystal-studded pendant on Versace’s website.
Adigrati told Nine News he was amazed by the man’s efforts.
“Three and a half hours, with two rods, trying to get this necklace,” he said. “Hook, line and sinker, I guess. He did it.”
The thief was well-organized, Senior Const. Bede Whitty told ABC.
“It’s fairly blatant and it’s quite bold as well,” Whitty said.
“I’ve not seen someone use a fishing rod to commit a burglary in the past.”
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