Man Barges Into Elmhurst House, Asks To Check Water: Cops

ELMHURST, IL — A man entered a back door of an Elmhurst house late last week asking to check the resident's water because the neighbor's water line broke, according to a police report.

The incident happened about 5:30 p.m. Friday in the 800 block of South Cedar Avenue. The resident asked the suspect to leave. The man then entered the passenger side of a newer white Dodge Ram pickup truck with no front license plate, police said. The truck left the area, heading west on Butterfield Road. Officers were unable to find the truck. Police labeled the incident an attempted burglary.

The suspect was described as possibly Hispanic, 6-foot-2, 220 pounds, and wearing a baseball style cap, black rubber work gloves and a black gator-style mask over his face.

The incident had some resemblance to a ruse burglary, where one person, posing as a service worker, distracts and engages homeowners in conversation while a second burglar enters the home and removes valuables. But this case differs in that no one knocked on the door or rang a doorbell.