ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Maine family offers liquor for return of old canoe

ALLAGASH, Maine

A northern Maine family is offering an unusual reward for the return of a vintage canoe stolen a month ago.

Darlene Kelly Dumond of Allagash says the family is offering $250 and a gallon of gin for any information leading to the recovery of what she calls a family heirloom.

The canoe that belonged to her father, Tyler Kelly, was last seen tied up at the village’s public landing Aug. 12.

Kelly, now 75 and retired, was a well-known guide and riverman who used to race canoes.

His daughter tells the Bangor Daily News that the unusual reward was thought up by a friend who figured a gallon of gin might be able to spark some interest in the dry town.

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife is investigating the case.

Sri Lankan diamond saga: Swallowed gem was fake

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka

A diamond-swallowing saga in Sri Lanka took an unexpected turn Tuesday when police revealed the stone swallowed by a visitor at a gem exhibition was a fake and they are searching for the real stone valued at $13,000.

Police arrested Chou Wan, 32, after a gem owner complained that a man had swallowed his 1.5 carat diamond at a jewelry show in Colombo last week.

An X-ray taken at a hospital showed the diamond and Chou was given a laxative so the gem could be recovered.

The National Gem and Jewelry Authority, which regulates the gem industry, then was asked to inspect the diamond concerned.

Police spokesman Ajith Rohana said the authority informed police the diamond Chou swallowed was fake and had no financial value.

He said investigators suspect another Chinese man seen with Chou may have the real diamond worth $13,636.

Exhibitor Suresh Wijekoon said two Chinese men were behaving suspiciously at his stalls and he suspected they were trying to switch fake stones to steal the real diamonds.

He said one man swallowed a diamond before he alerted the police while the other ran away.

Sri Lanka does not mine diamonds but is renowned for other highly treasured gems.

Facets Sri Lanka 2012 is the island nation’s annual largest gem and jewelry exhibition.

It attracts a large number of local and foreign buyers.

Associated Press