Elderly Westlake Resident Targeted In Distraction Burglary

WESTLAKE, OH — Last week, three men tried to burgle a Westlake woman's home. The woman caught the men in the act and they scurried out of the backdoor before officers arrived, a Westlake police spokesperson said.

A man in a reflective vest approached a house on Dover Center on Monday afternoon. He told the elderly homeowner he worked for a utility company and needed to check something in her basement. The man was in his 40s, pudgy and wearing a denim jacket beneath the vest, police said.

The man said a meter or pump in the house needed to be checked to prevent the home from catching fire. The homeowner followed him into the basement, but then heard footsteps on her first floor.

She went upstairs to check and found two men, both tall and thin, poking around her home. When she confronted the men, all three left out of the backdoor.

Police checked out the house and completed a burglary report. Evidence was collected from the home, but nothing appeared to have been stolen.

Several Northeast Ohio police departments, including Strongsville, have warned residents that distraction burglaries, like the one described above, have been on the rise.