Boulder – Police are on the lookout for an $85,000 wristwatch after one of the founders of the wildly successful Crocs footwear company reported it stolen over the weekend.
George Boedecker Jr., 45, told police Saturday night that his watch, made by ultra-luxury Swiss brand Roger Dubuis, had been stolen, though the circumstances of what happened are anything but clear.
According to a police report, two officers responded to the Hapa Sushi Grill on the Pearl Street Mall about 9 p.m. Saturday because one patron was reportedly harassing another. There, restaurant staff identified Boedecker as the instigator, and officers told Boedecker that the restaurant manager wanted him to leave, according to the report.
That is when Boedecker, whom an officer described as slurring his speech and smelling of alcohol, told police that his watch had been stolen and that he believed the man he confronted had stolen his watch. Boedecker told the officers he had seen the man in Las Vegas and that the man was a known “grifter,” though Boedecker later told the officers he had never seen the man before.
“I will make sure he pays,” Boedecker said, according to the report.
The officers then contacted the man Boedecker had confronted, searched him and cleared him of any involvement in the reported theft. Another restaurant patron, who didn’t tell police her name, said she saw Boedecker come out of the bathroom at one point during the night and say, “I lost my watch.”
Boulder police spokeswoman Julie Brooks said that, as of Monday evening, the watch had not been found.
“We don’t have any reason to doubt the veracity of (Boedecker’s) complaints,” she said.
Boedecker’s attorney, Thomas Mattson, confirmed Monday that his client reported the watch stolen. Mattson said the watch was a gift to Boedecker, though he wouldn’t say from whom. He declined to comment further.
Boedecker is one of three founders of Crocs, the Niwot- based company famous for its colorful resin clogs. Last May, he resigned from the board of directors, then two days later was arrested for allegedly threatening his former brother-in-law.
He was given a six-month deferred prosecution in the case.
Staff writer John Ingold can be reached at 720-929-0898 or jingold@denverpost.com.
