Gorbachev Loses Watch in Crowd

Nearing the end of his first foreign visit since leaving office late last year, former Soviet President Mikhail S. Gorbachev waded in to glad-hand a group of well-wishers in the north German city of Guetersloh.

He came away without his gold wristwatch, police said Tuesday.

They said that one of their security officers witnessed the Monday afternoon incident, in which Gorbachev’s watch fell to the ground and was quickly picked up by an individual described as an old man with a hat and bright jacket. The German news agency DPA transmitted a detailed description of the watch, along with a police plea for the man to turn it in immediately.

Gorbachev, who once drew rapturous crowds, was virtually ignored by the public upon his arrival last Wednesday and has drawn friendly, but sparse, crowds since.