$10,000 in cash and goods stolen in pair of County break-ins

By Max Reid

BELLEVILLE – A pair of break-ins Prince Edward County on Thursday and Friday netted thieves $10,000 worth of cash and other goods, but the county’s OPP detachment says there is no evidence of a connection between the thefts.

Thursday’s break-in took place at a home on County Road 23 in Ameliasburgh between 2 p.m. and midnight while the homeowner was at work, according to police. Officers were called after midnight when the owner returned to find that about $5,000 in cash and $300 in jewelry had been stolen from a dresser. Asked whether there was a security system at the home, Const. Karen German, the detachment’s community-relations officer, said there was no mention of one in the police report.

The theft on Friday took place at a home on Centre Street in Picton while the homeowner was in the front yard watering the garden, police say. The owner was approached by a woman presenting herself as potential purchase of the home, which is for sale. The owner agreed to give the woman a showing and when went inside to tidy up, but discovered that “the bedroom had been ransacked and a theft had occurred,” resulting in the loss of about $7,000 in goods, police say. The theft is believed to have happened between noon and 1:15 p.m.

Police suspected that the woman’s inquiry was a distraction for someone else to rob the house, according to German.

The woman is described as being in her 30s, with tanned skin, a slim build and a long black ponytail down to her hips. She is five feet, six inches tall, was wearing a white blouse and black pants, and did not speak with any accent.

The OPP’s Forensic Identification Services Unit arrived on the scene to help with the investigation.

Anyone with information or who may have witnessed anything is asked to contact the OPP at 1-888-310-1122 or Crime Stoppers at 1-888-222-8477.