SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. -- Detectives in Seminole County are looking into a rather bizarre case. Somebody stole an elderly woman's prized koi right out of her pond. She lost more than 20 fish, some worth thousands of dollars each.

"No, I can't believe someone would steal goldfish," said the woman's friend, Henry Bishop, laughing.

But they're not just any goldfish, but Japanese koi. The owner recently converted her hot tub into a pond to house her 20 fish. They were just one of a number of pets belonging to Violet Bennett. She's elderly and was too upset to be on camera, but a friend of hers did talk.

"She loves the fish. She cried about 'em and she just can't believe someone would come in and take her fish," Bishop said.

Over the weekend, Bishop first found the backyard door unlocked. Then, a few days later, he noticed something was missing.

"There's no goldfish in there, I guarantee you," Bishop said.

Not only do the fish mean a lot to the owner, they a cost a lot, too. One alone is worth $3,500.

Bishop isn't sure if the koi caper was by someone fishing for money or an act of meanness against an elderly pet lover. Whatever the case, hopefully detectives will get to the bottom of it.

"They are gonna be judged one day, if not here, somewhere else," Bishop said.

Eyewitness News checked and found koi range in value. Some sell for as little as $10, while other species of the fish have sold for more than $800,000.