Thieves Break Through Wall, Clean Out Jewelry Store's Safe

The owner of a Chicago-area jewelry store says thieves broke through the wall of the vacant office next door to steal $1.3 million in jewelry from a safe. Rick Kleinvehn, owner of Rick Kleinvehn Diamond Brokers in South Barrington, says the thieves used a wet saw, normally used in tiling projects, to cut through the safe's 1-inch-thick steel walls. "They used a wet saw, and the interior where the safe was became all slushy, muddy, just kind of a goo on the floor from them cutting for hours and hours through that steel," Kleinvehn tells ABC News. "They had buckets, and they were filling buckets and pouring it on the hot metal."

Police believe the heist over Mother's Day weekend involved a large crew of burglars working for several hours, ABC7 reports. The thieves cut the internet connection to the entire office complex and made off with the store's brand-new security system, leaving only wires behind. "This wasn't just some random teens out for the night," Kleinvehn said. "It was people that had the equipment and knew exactly what they were doing." He says the thieves stole around 1,000 pieces of jewelry—90% of the store's inventory. Kleinvehn is offering a $25,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the thieves and another $50,000 if the jewelry is recovered. (More jewelry theft stories.)