COCOA BEACH, Fla. – A woman is accused of not disclosing that she found two rings on a Cocoa Beach hotel lobby floor while the owner was searching for them, according to an arrest report.
Cocoa Beach police said a Canadian woman vacationing with her family dropped the wedding rings, valued around $13,000, in December 2017 on the floor of the old Comfort Inn lobby on North Atlantic Avenue.
The Comfort Inn is now the Quality Inn.
Police said Deborah Martin Dean, 65, was a shuttle bus driver servicing hotel guests traveling around the area. As soon as the owner, Tanya Tissaaratchy, realized the rings were not in her possession she notified people in the area and tried to find them.
"She tries to locate the rings herself, and then she asks for assistance from the hotel staff," Cocoa Beach police Sgt. Thomas Cooper said. "They both look for the rings and couldn't find them and that's when they decide to check the video."
Police said Dean is seen on the hotel's surveillance cameras picking up something off the lobby floor in the same spot where the rings fell.
Police said Dean then placed something in her pockets and she was later confronted by Tissaaratchy.
"The victim basically asks the suspect just to give the rings back, and suspect denies ever picking up any rings," Cooper said.
Police did not release the video because they said the case is still active. The rings are still missing more than a year after the alleged theft.
Dean was arrested Feb. 3 and charged with grand theft of an item more than $10,000 and less than $20,000. Her next court date was set for March 5.