By Jon Johnson
SAFFORD – A Safford man returned from a five-month excursion to find his home had been burglarized and a swath of his collection of stones and gems had been taken.
Officers were initially dispatched to the victim’s residence on Oct. 19 after his neighbor, who had been watching the house for the victim, reported that he himself had been out of town for a week for work and noticed the home had been burglarized upon his return.
The neighbor showed officers evidence that someone had recently been in the home and that the boxes where the victim keeps his collection of stones and gems had been rummaged through.
On Oct. 26, officers were called back to the residence by the victim, who had returned from his excursion. The victim said he was missing at least $1,500 in stones and that there were more missing but that he would have to go through his inventory to give a better estimate.
The victim also produced some evidence that could link whoever was inside the residence while he was gone. Investigators with the Safford Police Department are still working the case.