How have courts dealt with the disappearance of a large wooden packing box?

In People v. Berger, 285 N.Y. 811, 35 N.E.2d 197, Supra, a quantity of rubber thread contained in a large wooden packing box mysteriously disappeared. The box, with others, was on a truck for delivery, but in the course of its route about a city, was noted missing by the truck driver. After the loss had been reported to the police, a policeman found the defendant unpacking this same box on a sidewalk about two miles from where the box had been reported [28 N.Y.2d 10] missing. Defendant told the policeman that he was looking around for a packing case and had found this one on the sidewalk, an unlikely story inasmuch as the secured tailboard would prevent against its slipping out. It was claimed, among other things, on appeal to this court that there was insufficient evidence that the property had been stolen by anyone, that is, the same claim argued on the present appeal. We held that this was properly a question [267 N.E.2d 581] of fact for the jury and although there was no direct evidence of an underlying theft, the circumstances were such as to make such an inference possible. (People v. Berger, 285 N.Y. 811, 35 N.E.2d 197, Supra).