VANCOUVER, Wash. (KOIN) — A woman who tried to sell her $35,000 diamond ring on online is warning others after a man handed her fake money, snatched the ring and ran.
Stacy Bone says the theft happened at the Vancouver Mall, where she had arranged to meet the buyer. She says he even seemed nervous on the phone about bringing so much cash.
“Honestly, I’m probably not going to sell anything online for a very very long time,” said Bone.
The two went into Macy’s at the mall to have the value of the ring verified. When they stepped back outside, the cash he handed her felt fake, Bone says. Then he grabbed the ring and ran.
He ran right back into Macy’s, and Bone chased him through the store. At one point, the man pepper-sprayed a Macy’s employee, authorities said. Eventually, the man got away. He jumped in a white Ford Taurus with a woman driving and took off.
“It hit me in my car when he grabbed that ring, I thought this is exactly what everybody talks about, this is that moment, and I felt like I had street smarts. I felt like I covered all my bases by bringing somebody with me, being in a public place, being somewhere there are cameras, being totally aware of my surroundings. But at any moment somebody can just flip a switch and steal from you,” Bone says.
She was able to get surveillance pictures of the man from inside the Macy’s store.
If you recognize the man in the photo, contact police.
