| 1 | (CNN)Formula One driver Jenson Button's wife Jessica had her engagement ring stolen when thieves broke into a rented house in France -- in a burglary that may have involved the use of gas, a spokesman for Button said. |
| 2 | The British McLaren Honda driver, his wife and friends were vacationing in a villa in Saint-Tropez, on the French Riviera, when two men broke in on Monday night while they all slept, said spokesman James Williamson. |
| 3 | Gas is suspected to have been used in the villa's air-conditioning unit, he told CNN. |
| 4 | He didn't elaborate on what kind of gas it might have been. |
| 5 | The thieves "stole a number of items of jewelery including, most upsettingly, Jessica's engagement ring," he said in a statement. |
| 6 | "The police have indicated that this has become a growing problem in the region, with perpetrators going so far as to gas their proposed victims through the air conditioning units before breaking in. |
| 7 | "Whilst unharmed, everyone involved is unsurprisingly shaken by the events." |
| 8 | Police in Saint-Tropez declined to comment on the reported theft. |
| 9 | Button, who lives in Monaco, has enjoyed a 15-year career as a Formula One driver and was 2009 world champion. |
| 10 | The 35-year-old married model Jessica Michibata, born and raised in Japan, at the end of last year. |
| 11 | Pictures posted to her Instagram account last weekend show her on a beach wearing what appears to be a large diamond engagement ring. |