micmack - I was not joking at this Snag, only at lardhead's comment. If you had been through the thread, you should have noticed my troll comment. I sympathise with you. I have only been victim of losing a clutch bag in strange circumstances just outside Paris - 10pm one summer evening outside my appt in a very nice quiet street in St Germain-en-Laye (almost green fields behind). I had opened the front door and read a ty letter in the post, then loaded the shopping in as I had guests over the weekend. Come next morning (Saturday) could I find it, no. Turns out a Moroccan lifted it from the car - I didn't even notice him. He was apprehended after trying to pass a cheque - the old story of they start small and get greedier until somebody tripped him.
My mother had a major burglary - some 50k (back then) of art etc (even my two first class first place University class medals) and she was seriously tweaked. I sympathise with what happened to you and especially your Missus. - I presume there was no recovery. What tweaked her was they had obviously been watching her house - it was a daytime burglary.
My mother did get one picture back after about 3 years - it appeared in the paper for sale through a major London auction house and had started its progression in life from a boot sale. The police held onto it for about a year; its been cleaned up and is hanging here now ( a J Park, a St Ives painter).
Shame we hadn't colonised another planet to set up another Oz.......