Thieves hitting Barry homes for jewels

HASTINGS TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - Bryan Tobias was on his day off a week ago Monday when he returned from running some errands. He found the steel-entry door to the back of his house busted open.

The burglar left a rather obvious calling card -- a rather large footprint.

"It's at least a 12 or better 'cause you can see residue from their sole here," he said. "And their heel is way down here."

Tobias checked with neighbors and found in about a 1-mile radius of his Castleton Township home, east of Hastings, two others had been broken into that week.

"The three of us in this square-mile block, the patterns are identical," he said. "They're going in straight to the master bedroom. It's the only place they're going. It didn't appear they went anywhere else in the house."

State police are investigating 22 similar cases since September. The Barry County Sheriff's Department is looking into 13.

And they're still counting.

It's the same method of operation. The suspects show up in the middle of the day, probably knocking on the door to make sure no one is home.

If not, they break down the back door.

From there, they go right to the bedroom, ransacking the areas where people normally keep their jewelry: the top of the dresser and the top row of drawers.

"The wife's original wedding bands are gone," Tobias said. "Pearls. Opals. Diamonds. Who knows. Gold?"

Many of the incidents occurred in three townships: Hastings, Hope and Castleton -- all bordering Hastings.

The only suspect details released so far are the sightings of his or her vehicle. Barry County deputies say it's a white Ford Escort.

State police say one way to avoid getting ripped off is to put belongings and valuables where suspects would not expect to find them.

But for some people, the advice comes a little too late.

"They're on a mission," Tobias said of the suspects. "And they have a plan."

24 Hour News 8 received several e-mails on something else taken: women's underwear.

In one of the cases, the suspect took six pairs of underwear.

But police say it simply got thrown from the dresser drawer into the pile and wasn't something the suspect was specifically trying to take.

People with any information are encouraged to call the Barry County Sheriff's Department, Michigan State Police at the Hastings Post or Silent Observer.