Professional wrestling star Chris Jericho found himself in the middle of a mystery after one of his prized championship belts was reportedly pilfered during a pit stop in Tallahassee.

Jericho, who won the All Elite Wrestling strap during a Saturday bout outside Chicago, landed in a private jet at Million Air on Sunday afternoon with the belt in hand. But events took an unexpected and wrath-producing turn after he took a limousine to LongHorn Steakhouse on North Monroe Street for a bite to eat.

The golden belt, valued at nearly $30,000, turned up missing. Investigators with the Tallahassee Police Department launched an investigation. Jericho, who owns an estate outside Tampa, vowed revenge Tuesday in a trash-talking Twitter video shot while he sipped champagne from his hot tub.

“Unfortunately, less than 24 hours after I became the first AEW champion, with blood running down my face after one of the hardest matches I’ve ever had in my life, some low-life scumbag committed grand larceny and robbed me of the AEW championship. Now, as I sit here in my palatial estate, my beautiful mansion — getting ready to have a little bubbly — I’m just imagining what I would do to that son of a bitch if he was here right now.”

Jericho may never get a chance to sate that blood lust, however. On Wednesday morning — after the theft and a purported police report about it went viral — TPD announced the belt had been recovered.

But that itself touched off a mini-mystery of its own. TPD posted a photo on its Facebook feed of one of its officers, Mike Schwab, showing off the belt at headquarters. However, the department deleted the post minutes later without explanation.

"Chris Jericho we have something that belongs to you," TPD said in the post. "Celebrate with #ALittleBitOfTheBubbly (responsibly of course)! More information to follow. #foundit #championshipbelt.”

Not long after that, Officer Damon Miller, a spokesman for TPD, sounded surprised when asked about the Facebook post.

"It's been posted to social media?” he asked. “It's still an open and active investigation. The case has not been closed yet.”

By Wednesday afternoon, TPD provided partial demystification of the alleged theft. In a news release, the department said a citizen turned the belt in at headquarters after saying it had been found along the side of the road. TPD provided few other details — including where it was found or whether investigators were eyeing any suspects.

“This case has been assigned to investigators with TPD’s Burglary Unit and is still an active investigation,” Miller said in a news release. “Investigators are asking anyone with information about this case to please call them at (850) 891-4200 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 574-TIPS.”

TPD released a heavily redacted report on the theft, showing it happened around 5:30 p.m. Sunday and was reported to police nearly two hours later. LongHorn Steakhouse was listed as the “location of occurrence.”

The case offered plenty of other intrigue. A couple of days after the theft, what appeared to be a written TPD watch summary of the theft started making the rounds online. TPD did not immediately confirm the report’s authenticity.

The summary said Jericho landed at Million Air, put the belt in his limo and accidentally picked up some wrong luggage before heading to the restaurant. The driver took the luggage back to the airport and when he returned to pick up Jericho, the belt was discovered missing. Officers searched the limo and the airport but couldn’t find the belt. Forensics officers were called to the scene.

Spoof listings of the belt for sale began appearing online. One person advertised it on Craigslist Tallahassee under Lost & Found, saying it turned up along the side of Highway 20.

“Contact me with details and you can come and get it,” the person wrote.

All Elite Wrestling posted Jericho’s hot tub video but said little else about the purloined belt.

“Authorities are working on it as we speak,” the company said in an Instagram post.

Kristin Colville, a spokeswoman for Orlando-based Darden Restaurants, which owns the LongHorn brand, said she didn’t have details on the alleged theft.

“I know TPD is investigating,” she said.

Jericho, one of the biggest names in professional wrestling, rose to prominence in the early 2000s with high-profile World Wrestling Entertainment bouts against The Rock and others. Earlier this year, he bought a $3.2 million estate on Lake Keystone outside Tampa.

He was slightly less than humble — and broke into a bit of French — as he promised in his video to launch a “world-wide investigation” using “the top private investigators in the world today” to find the thief. His comments came before the belt was recovered.

“Trust me, as the new AEW champion — as your ‘le champion’ — I promise to regain and restore and find and reclaim the AEW championship and once again give you another reason to finally give me the ‘thank you’ that I deserve. You’re welcome.”

Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or follow @JeffBurlew on Twitter

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