Bush watch: Now you see it, now you don't

Bush watch: Now you see it, now you don't

US denies it was stolen as President shook hands during visit to Albania

WATCH IT!: Mr Bush greeting enthusiastic crowds of Albanians on Sunday with his watch on his left wrist (above). Moments later, his wristwatch had disappeared. -- AP View more photos TIRANA (ALBANIA) - WHATEVER happened to the President's watch? One moment President George W. Bush was shaking hands with Albanians on Sunday, proudly sporting a watch with a dark strap on his left wrist. Moments later, it was gone. Did it fall off? Did one of his bodyguards remove it? Or did one of the crowd artfully slip it off his wrist and pocket it? The United States Embassy in Albania on Tuesday emphatically denied that Mr Bush's watch was stolen during his visit to the country, where he was acclaimed as a hero. The Albanian media - and international websites - is buzzing over a video showing Mr Bush's wristwatch apparently disappearing while he was shaking hands with people in Fushe Kruje, 25km north of Tirana, the capital. 'What the local media is saying is absolutely not true,' a US Embassy official said. People waiting on the sidewalks on Sunday gave Mr Bush a rapturous welcome, shaking hands with him, grabbing him by the arms and wrists, reaching out to embrace him and even ruffling his hair. Mr Bush was clearly delighted by the attention and plunged back into the crowd for more hand shakes and to be kissed on the cheek. But White House spokesman Tony Snow said Mr Bush's watch was not stolen by someone in the crowd. 'The President put it in his pocket, and it returned safely home,' Mr Snow said in Washington. Albanian police also said that the reports were not true, saying pictures showed that one of Mr Bush's bodyguards had removed the watch. An Albanian bodyguard who accompanied Mr Bush in the town told The Associated Press that he had seen one of his US colleagues close to Mr Bush bend down and pick up the watch. The Top Channel private TV station showed how one of his bodyguards may have talked to the President and then taken the watch from his hand. Mr Bush's visit to the tiny Balkan country, the first by a US president, was considered as historic. ASSOCIATED PRESS