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Ryan Lochte's Gunpoint Robbery Story Getting Fishier by the Day

Nothing really adds up in this Ryan Lochte gunpoint robbery story.

Maybe there is a reason why the USOC, IOC, Ileana Lochte, and Ryan Lochte couldn't seem to make up their minds on whether or not the six-time gold medalist was actually robbed in Rio early Sunday morning: even the swimmers involved in the supposed theft don't seem to know anything about it. Rio police have further questioned Lochte, Gunnar Bentz, Jack Conger, and Jimmy Feigen and none of them seem to remember even basic facts of the night, like the type or color of the cab they were in when they say they got pulled over and mugged at gunpoint by a group of men flashing badges. They couldn't even tell them what time it happened.

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From the Associated Press:

Police investigating reports that American swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his teammates were robbed at gunpoint in a taxi so far have found little evidence supporting the account, and say the swimmers were unable to provide key details in police interviews.

A police official with knowledge of the investigation told the Associated Press that police cannot find their taxi driver or witnesses. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

They did not initially report the crime because Lochte said they were afraid of getting in trouble, but eventually they did speak and cooperate with police when it became a story. Although they appear to have been unhelpful, they did tell police they were intoxicated at the time, so that gives them a little bit of leeway, but still this story has been weird since it first broke. Providing further cover is the commonly held belief that Rio is besieged by violent crime, so much so that police often can't keep up. The Fake Cop Stop that Lochte and his teammates described is also a common tactic. However, where this took Barra da Tijuca—where the robbery supposedly took place—is a much more upscale community than the city proper, and crime is not as prevalent.

In response to a VICE Sports query, the Secretary of Security for Rio said the 16th police precinct covers Barra da Tijuca, in addition to eight other neighborhoods.The most recent data available—as self reported by the precinct itself—for the 16th precinct is from June, and in that month it reported 167 armed robberies across all nine neighborhoods. That amounts to little more than five reported armed robberies per day in the 16th precinct. Spread out throughout all the neighborhoods, that's not even one per day in each. That is to say: this is not a high crime rate area.

Footage from the athlete village where they were staying shows all four dropping their things off at security gate and metal detector at 6:56 a.m. Lochte and Conger look like they're still wearing their watches, though Lochte only said that their wallets and money were stolen.

It's certainly possible that those fake cops exist and were casing the neighborhood because they knew wealthy, drunken athletes would be around, but it's hard to ignore the lack of any sort of meaningful recollection from the U.S. Swimmers. Nevertheless, Lochte's attorney, Jeff Ostrow, said that the night "happened the way [Lochte] described" it and he signed a statement yesterday "confirming the facts he provided."

On Wednesday a Brazilian judge ordered that Lochte's passport be seized as police continue to investigate his claims, but Ostrow said Lochte is already back in the United States.

[AP]