AURORA, Ill. (CBS) – Aurora Police detectives are trying to crack a puzzling case. Call it the “mystery of the missing 27 thousand dollar diamond.” CBS2’s Mike Parker is also checking it out.

Mark Twain wrote that “It’s better to have old second hand diamonds than none at all.” Somebody out there has a nice one, that’s for sure.

A three carat diamond worth $27,300 was placed in a package with some other items. It was then Kay’s Jewelry store in the Fox Valley Mall in Aurora, to corporate headquarters in Akron, Ohio. The package arrived but without the diamond.

Now Aurora police are on the case. They suspect the worst.

A Loop diamond expert from Mon Ami Jewelers showed CBS2 a similar gem of similar size and value.
“It’s actually pretty big in terms of diamonds. What makes it so expensive,” said Jeweler Natalie Scheneman, is that “it’s very clear and very white.”

What should be clear to the thief, is that trying to sell it to a reputable pawn broker is not a good idea. If you’re an ex- felon, you’ll be red flagged. And they have records of stolen jewels and they require all kinds of ID’s, including picture ID’s.

Pawn broker and Loan Banker Stephen Greenfield said, “Your name is right in there and all the information is right in there and it’s going to be, like, go to jail. Do not pass go.”