CHATFIELD (AP) — Police have found a clue in the half-million-dollar jewelry heist at a rest stop in southeastern Minnesota earlier this month.

Olmsted County sheriff's Capt. Scott Behrns says the Chatfield Police Department on Friday recovered a suitcase believed to have been stolen in the robbery.

The case was found near U.S. Highway 52 and contained jewelry display items.

The smash-and-grab happened Dec. 8 at a rest stop along Interstate 90. Investigators believe the thieves followed their victims for several hundred miles from a trade show in Chicago before pulling off the heist in less than 2 minutes.

The Post-Bulletin (http://bit.ly/13rL3Nq ) reports the victim of the robbery is identified as Direct Diamond Importers of Iowa.

While the loss was initially estimated at $500,000, the company says the inventory is still being assessed.

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