Thieves targeting rural residences
Mulmur and Melancthon residents and police are concerned about a rash of rural break-ins that have left them feeling vulnerable.
One Mulmur resident who asked not to be identified, said he came home one day in July to find thieves had gained access to his balcony and threw a rock through the door window to enter through the master bedroom. He said the robbers were scared off by an alarm not before they made off with valuables.
Melancthon Township resident Zora Singh had heard about a series of robberies in the area and was taking precautions to avoid being victimized. She put all of her equipment in the garage and kept in locked. She even took photos of the contents.
Then, Singh came home August 11 to find the garage was empty.
“Usually I feel very safe here and I think we all had been feeling safe,” said Singh. “I was keeping everything locked, lights on, keeping my eyes peeled for any suspicious cars but it’s hard to tell here.” She said there had been a lot of people and activity on the property up until August 11 but on that day everyone left and Singh went out to run errands in the afternoon, leaving one person on the property, who was cleaning the house.
She saw that the garage window had been pushed out and the door had been opened.
Singh said she was only away from home for two hours and the cleaner who was there the whole time didn’t hear anything.
“That’s pretty gutsy,” said Singh. “They had taken the big ticket items, like our generator which is very heavy so they had the means to take this equipment, and quickly.”
They also took a lawn tractor, power washer, ladder, chainsaw, leaf blower and a motorbike.
“I was bummed because I was trying to be vigilant and this happened under my nose and in the daytime,” said Singh.
She said she doesn’t know what would have happened if she had come home because the way the driveway is configured, she would have cornered them.
Dufferin OPP Const. Paul Nancekivell said there have been about 40 such break-ins throughout the detachment area so far this year.
Thieves are targeting the rural areas in Mulmur and Melancthon, going into unlocked garages and casing houses to see when people are away. Police have seen a pattern of daylight break-ins, where they know no one is home.
“They could be in there for an hour in the middle of the day and unless you drive in on them, you’d never see them,” said Nancekivell.
The targeted properties may have long private laneways on treed lots and may not be visible from the road. In some cases, the thieves are walking onto the property.
Nancekivell is urging people to phone police when they see suspicious vehicles in the area. He said there is reason to believe that the thieves are coming from Toronto, Brampton, Wellington County and there is some indication there are some people coming from the Dundalk area.
“We need them to phone in right away if they see a vehicle they don’t recognize, or that is suspicious,” said Nancekivell.
They are looking for vehicles that can carry stolen items, such as unmarked vans and pick up trucks with caps.
Nancekivell said he has been out patrolling the back roads and dead ends looking for such vehicles.
Residents want neighbours to be aware that there is a threat so they can be more vigilant in protecting their property.
Nancekivell said people can do that by making sure their equipment and tools are put away at night in a locked garage or shed. Residents should also be sure to lock their homes and vehicles.
But most importantly, they need to report to police.
“We need people’s help,” said Nancekivell. “We are having a heck of a time with all these break-ins and all it will take is that one person to call in and give us the one tip that puts the last piece in the puzzle and away we go. People don’t realize how important that is.”
Report all suspicious activity to police by calling 1-888-310-1122 or *677 on a cell phone.
