Thieves Target Elderly Woman in Her Troy Home

An elderly resident on the 1000 block of Snead reported Monday afternoon that two men had pulled into her driveway in a dark-colored flatbed truck. One man came to her front door and asked the woman to "walk with him to the back yard," according to a media release from the Troy Police Department.

The man told the elderly woman that the woman's daughter had sent him. The resident complied with the man's request and left her front door open. The woman eventually became uncomfortable and went back into her home, locking the door behind her.

The woman's daughter later confirmed she had not sent the men. A dresser drawer was then found partially open, and the elderly woman determined jewelry had been stolen. Police suspect the second man entered the home while the first distracted the woman. Both suspects are described as dark-skinned white males in their fifties.

A similar incident occurred on Sept. 7, when two men approached an elderly couple at their home on the 3000 block of Livernois claiming to be construction workers. One of the men also asked the couple to accompany him to the back yard, though the residents refused. When the couple went to the front yard, they found a vehicle parked in their yard, backed up to the front porch.

The man they had been talking to got into the vehicle, driven by a second male, and the pair fled south on Livernois.

The suspect is described as 30-35 years old, six feet tall and 300 pounds wearing a safety vest and a hard hat. The vehicle is described as a gray SUV or cross-over vehicle. It does not appear that the men made entry into the elderly couple's home, according to a media release from Troy Police.

Call Troy Police at 248-524-3477 if you have any information about these incidents.