Elderly Woman Finds a Mass of Jewelry Missing

On Feb. 24, were dispatched for a jewelry theft call — not at a jewelry store, but at an 84-year-old woman's home in the 6800 block of North Yates Road.

The woman told police that she had discovered several pieces of her jewelry were missing that morning from her bedroom. She also noticed three $100 bills were missing from the same bedroom. She said she wasn't sure when the theft occurred because she never caught anyone in the house or found anything else really out of place or missing. 

But when thinking back, she remembered that during the previous week she had found one of her gold herringbone necklaces lying on the floor in the bedroom next to the dresser. She told police that she didn't think anything of it at the time, and just put it back in her jewelry box.

Police inquired if she used any cleaning or residential services, which may have given someone else access to her home, but she said that she hasn't used any in a very long time.

Police searched her home, looking for signs of forced entry and found the back door had several half-inch pry marks to the door jam, and the door itself. A partial print was lifted from the side of the door.

Missing items were as follows, for a grand total of $980:

• Opal, stud earrings, valued at $150
• Omega yellow gold necklace, valued at $150
• Amethyst pendant with a set of matching earrings, valued at $175
• Pounded silver necklace and pendant with a mother of pearl inlay, valued at $130
• Red heart pendant, valued at $75
• Gold ring with an oval purple stone in a size seven, value unknown
• An additional number of silver and gold necklaces, values unknown
• $300 in cash

Police researched possible similar burglaries in the area and found one had occurred on Feb. 9 in the 200 block of East Green Tree Road, just two blocks from the  jewelry theft. From photos taken at the crime scene, police determined that the same tool was not used, as the blade pry marks were much larger at the jewelry theft.