A man who offered his friend lodging and even lent him an electric bike was shocked to discover his valuable gold pendant had vanished—allegedly taken by the very person he trusted. Police in Guanyun County have successfully cracked the case, recovering the stolen item worth over 20,000 yuan.
On August 7, a local resident surnamed Xu walked into the Dongwangji Police Station to report that a gold pendant weighing approximately 24 grams, valued at more than 20,000 yuan, had gone missing from his home. According to Xu, he had removed the pendant while bathing on the evening of July 18 and only realized it was gone when he tried to wear it again on July 26. Initially, he did not suspect theft, but after thoroughly searching his home without success, he grew alarmed and immediately filed a report.
Upon arriving at the scene, investigators found no signs of forced entry—doors and windows were intact, with no pry marks or damage. This led officers to rule out the possibility of an outsider breaking in, shifting the focus of the investigation toward someone familiar with the victim.
During the inquiry, Xu provided a crucial lead: in mid-July, a close friend surnamed Xu had visited his home and stayed overnight. More notably, on July 25, this friend had borrowed his electric bike. Afterward, the friend—typically frugal in his spending habits—suddenly changed his lifestyle, purchasing a new smartphone and settling outstanding debts, displaying noticeably more generous spending.
Officer Yan Tinghao, the lead investigator, quickly picked up on this abnormal behavior. He analyzed the travel route of the electric bike on July 25 and discovered that the path passed by a gold store. Officers rushed to the shop to verify, but surveillance footage did not show the suspect entering, and staff confirmed that no one had come to sell gold that day, temporarily breaking the lead.
Despite the setback, Yan did not give up. Relying on his investigative experience, he maintained that the suspect was still a prime suspect. The absence of a fencing record could only mean a missed detail. He re-examined the bike's travel route and drove along the path step by step, checking every possible establishment for transactions along the way. At one stretch, he spotted a storefront advertisement reading "Recycling: Phones, Gold, Luxury Watches" on a glass door. This was not a dedicated gold-buying shop but a mobile phone retail store that also handled recycling services.
Yan entered the store to inquire and, upon verification, successfully located the stolen gold pendant. Faced with undeniable evidence, the suspect's psychological defenses collapsed. He confessed to the full sequence of events: seizing the opportunity while his friend was off guard, he stole the gold pendant out of greed and later sold it. He is now under legally imposed coercive measures, and the case is being further processed.