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David Schwimmer, is that you? Thief caught on camera is spitting image of 'Friends' star

Police in England were inundated with comments and jokes after posting a photo of a suspected thief who was a Ross Geller lookalike. Schwimmer himself later chimed in, professing his innocence.
/ Source: TODAY

It's not his day, his month or even his year, but one thing we're sure of: a suspected crook in coastal England is not actually David Schwimmer.

Police in the town of Blackpool were unexpectedly inundated with comments Tuesday when they posted a photo of a suspected thief on their Facebook page.

The image of the suspect showed him preparing to buy beer at a local store. The theft on Sept. 20 was of a coat, mobile phone and wallet, taken from a Blackpool restaurant, police told NBC News.

But "Friends" fans across the world were struck by how much the suspect looked like David Schwimmer, or, more specifically, Ross Geller, the character he played on the long-running NBC sitcom.

Schwimmer himself chimed in on Twitter Wednesday with a clear alibi.

After police posted the photo, many people made references to "Friends" and, of course, Ross' long-running romance with Rachel, played by Jennifer Aniston.

If you feel like reading them all, stock up on your Central Perk coffee: As of Wednesday, the post had received more than 135,000 comments.

David Schwimmer
Let's just call this "The One That Came Close, But No Cigar": UK suspect on left, actual David Schwimmer on right.Blackpool Police/Facebook

Many were "Friends" jokes. Some of our favorites:

"That's clearly not Ross," wrote Sarah Willow. "They're as different as night and ... later that night."

"Lay off him," added Louise Lewis. "He grew up with Monica. IF YOU DIDN'T EAT FAST YOU DIDN'T EAT," he said, referencing one of Ross' memorable lines.

We love to see true "Friends" geeks dig deep and rise to the occasion!

David Schwimmer
Schwimmer as Ross with Jennifer Aniston as Rachel in a 2002 episode of "Friends." He does look pretty guilty there.Getty Images

Fortunately, or alas, the police have now cleared at least one possible suspect in the crime: Schwimmer. In the comments, the cops said he was nowhere in the vicinity at the time of the alleged theft.

"Thank you to everyone for your speedy responses," they wrote. "We have investigated this matter thoroughly and have confirmed that David Schwimmer was in America on this date."

And they couldn't resist a little "Friends" reference of their own, adding, "We're so sorry it has to be this way."

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story and headline mistakenly said the suspected thief was wanted for stealing beer from a restaurant. TODAY regrets the error.