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Jewelry collection stolen
from Maili Point home
$40,000 in gems and gold
are among the valuables lost
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Among the stolen items was more than $40,000 in gems and jewelry that Navy man Richard Salisbury had collected from 32 countries he visited in 13 years. Salisbury, 33, was ready to embark on a jewelry business.
Salisbury's extensive collection included elaborate diamond engagement rings and other rings, earrings and loose stones.
Prabha Natarajan, 30, who usually watches Salisbury's house while he is gone, lost precious wedding saris with gold thread woven into them and worn at her February wedding in India, as well as unique 24-karat gold Indian jewelry.
Those were just some of the items stolen from the Maili Point home in a burglary sometime between Oct. 8 and 11, when the two were away. Natarajan was house-sitting another home at the time, and Salisbury was away on an assignment.
Salisbury returned Oct. 15 to find his home trashed -- doors broken, locks busted and mounds of clothes pulled from the closets.
"That was very painful," he said. "You feel extremely violated."
Although Salisbury lost diamonds and gold, the most painful losses were irreplaceable items that did not have much intrinsic value but were dear to him. They include a trunk full of photos, a genealogy and a family Bible.
"Why would you steal a Bible?" he asked.
Natarajan also had every piece of jewelry she owned taken, except the pair of pearl earrings she was wearing. Included in the stolen items were two M-shaped pendants with gold beads in a yellow chain of 24-karat gold.
Salisbury is still trying to figure out what was lost. Also stolen were two laptop computers, two desktop computers, signed Wyland art pieces and even Natarajan's makeup and toothbrushes.
Salisbury's homeowner's policy, however, only covers losses on jewelry up to $1,000.
Another huge worry comes from the possibility that they might be victims of identity theft.
"It's a nightmare," said Natarajan, a Pacific Business News reporter.
Detective Letha DeCaires, Honolulu CrimeStoppers coordinator, said, "Identity theft seems to roll right out of a burglary."
Honolulu Police Department Crimestoppers