Police are investigating the possibility that a series of break-ins throughout our region might be the work of one thief, or a group of thieves working together.
The similarities in the cases from several towns have prompted investigators to look at the possible link.
June Little left her Adjala-Tosorontio house for only two hours to go shopping, but that was long enough for thieves to break in. She says they forced their way through the garage door then stole her jewellery.
“My engagement ring, my birth stone ring, and all kinds of necklaces and earrings and a watch, my gold watch,” she says of what was taken.
The break in at Little’s home took place in June. According to the OPP, there have been 12 other daytime break and enters in the area since then. In each case the thieves stole only jewellery.
In addition to the break and enters in the Alliston area, police say there have been dozens of other daytime break-ins across the region this summer – from Grey County, to Dufferin and east into Peterborough. They are always the same. The thieves target rural homes during the day and they only steal jewellery.
OPP Sgt. Peter Leon says police can’t say for sure that all of the break-ins are connected but he says one arrest could crack the numerous cases.
“What we are realizing is that if anybody sees a person or vehicle of concern in the area and they report that, it could be the turning point in regard to these ongoing investigations, it could be that individual that could be the key to solving all of these occurrences,” Leon says.
The value of the jewellery stolen in the all of break-ins has not been totalled, but Little says it’s not the financial loss that’s upsetting; it's losing family heirlooms.
“It's a personal loss, a family loss I guess you would call it, some things that can't be replaced,” she says.
Police are asking anybody who sees a suspicious person or vehicle in their neighbourhoods not to hesitate calling. It could be nothing, but it could also stop the thieves in their tracks.
