Woman foresees return of stolen heirloom in a dream

PASADENA, TX (KTRK) -- A woman from Sagemont is reunited with a rare piece of jewelry thanks to hard work of two law enforcement agencies.

It was a family heirloom and she thought it was gone forever, but thanks to detectives it's back where it belongs.

PHOTOS: Woman reunited with stolen heirloom

"I was shocked," says Patricia Nguyen. "I don't know what I could do, I freaked out."

Nguyen says she thought she would never see a jade gem again. Back in March, a burglar broke into her home and took the family heirloom.

But Thursday, the impossible happened. Earlier this month, detectives uncovered a trove of stolen goods at a motel room rented by a burglary suspect, including Nguyen's jewelry and that piece of jade.

"On Friday night, lucky, I told all my co-workers that I dreamed to see my sister," Nguyen says. "And it was my young sister first. She was smiling at me, and she's holding a piece of jade. This jade. And she said, 'Don't worry, don't let your head down, you will find your stuff, it will come back.'"

The robbery case spanned two police agencies and took a lot of leg work to link and then return the stolen items.

Pasadena Police say too many times stolen items are not reunited with their owners, but this time things were different.

"This piece of jewelry is very unique," says Pasadena Detective Doug Buckert. "I believe she said it is 150 years old. There is not another one in the Houston area."

Pasadena Police again say the stolen goods were all found in one suspect's motel room and much of it was returned, including that one of a kind piece of jade.