The three bullion merchants demanded recompense for the lost gold—most of Abell's gold was insured through SER, but the company denied any culpability, claiming that the robbery must have taken in place in France. The French authorities pointed out that as the weights of the boxes in France both matched, and differed from that in England, it must have occurred in the UK; both the French and British companies stated "that the crime was an impossibility", according to Thomas. Newspapers reported that "It is supposed that so well planned a scheme could not have been executed in the rapid passage by railway from London to Folkestone". Burgess was examined, but not deemed a suspect because of his 14 years of service to the company. Tester had been seen at the SER offices while the train was still "en route" to Folkestone, so was also discounted as a potential thief. An reward of £300 was soon advertised in several newspapers.