Mother Teresa tie stolen and returned thrice in S Africa

An eye-catching tie featuring a full-length image of Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Mother Teresa has been stolen thrice from a restaurant here but surprisingly found its way back on every occasion.
The owners of the Parrareinha Restaurant, which has more than 5,000 ties hanging from its ceiling, now have a firm belief that the renowned nun from India is watching over their venue and ensures that the tie is never taken away.
The origins of the tie and why it has Mother Teresa's image on it are unknown because most of them are donated by patrons, said Maria da Cunha, the Portuguese-origin owner of the restaurant.

Keeping a firm eye on the Mother Teresa tie because of its popularity, Da Cunha was the one who noticed on all three occasions that it had gone missing.
The first time security camera video footage showed a customer slipping the tie into his pocket.
Tracing his details from his reservation, Da Cunha called up the businessman who denied taking the tie until he was told how he had been caught in the act.

He then got one of his staff to return the tie.
The second thief was a woman who got so inebriated during her meal that she dropped her handbag as she left the restaurant, spilling out its contents, including the tie.

The third would-be new owner of the tie was an elderly woman who was also caught on camera pulling it down.
She sent it back with her husband.
A waiter at the restaurant, who refused to give his name, said he had once even been offered a thousand rands by a party of six diners if he could smuggle out the tie for them.
"It catches everyone's eye immediately amongst all the multi-coloured ties, but I could never do that, as we now call Mother Teresa the patron saint of Parreirinha," he said.
Now the popular Mother Teresa tie has found a new position in the restaurant, tied in a knot from the rafter directly in front of the cash register, where it is in full view of a staff member all the time.