Jewelry

Debrah Aust is a fourth generation jeweler, and daughter to the owner of Father and Son Jewelry. The store is a family business that has been located in downtown Medford for 20 years.

She says that they have never had a problem with thievery, until last Tuesday when a seemingly average man came into the store looking to buy an engagement ring.

Aust says the encounter was like any other. He was in the store for about 45 minutes while a store employee helped him pick one out a ring. As the employee finished up the transaction, the man asked her to show him a piece of jewelry that was hanging on the wall.

"He had asked to see a strand of pearls behind her, and in that split second, he had grabbed the case and took off running out the door," said Aust.

Employees say they were totally taken by surprise when he ran off with a case of jewelry, but what their manager did next shocked them even more.

"He took off running down the street, and my first instinct was to run after him," said Aust.

She chased the man for about five minutes. As she was running, Aust says she started to catch up to him. He seemingly panicked, threw the entire case of rings into the street, and kept running.

"I just yelled out to him 'not today, Buck-snort,' and I evidently must have startled him enough that when he saw me, that's when he threw the box into the street," said Aust.

She says that the case he took contained about 70 rings, with a total value of about 20 thousand dollars.

Police were on the scene shortly after the incident took place. Father and Son says they have an advanced security system that got a clear video of the suspect. So far, law enforcement has not made any arrests.

As for Aust, she says that while she's glad they got the merchandise back, she she might think twice about running after a criminal again.

"I got a stern talking to from my husband. Rightfully so."

Anyone with information about the suspect's identity is asked to contact Medford Police.