UPDATE: Fourth NE Rochester burglary in four days
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(ABC 6 News) – UPDATE: The fourth NE Rochester burglary in four days took place between 6:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 1, Rochester police say.
A man in the 700 block of 22nd St. NE left his home, came back 12 hours later, and found his front door forced in and a ransacked house.
The man’s safe was open and about $2,000 in cash was stolen, Capt. Casey Moilanen said. The man estimated about $300 in further damage to the door.
Rochester police are again asking residents to check home security cameras in the area for signs of a suspect, and to be on the lookout for people watching homes or lurking in neighborhoods, who may be waiting for homeowners to leave houses unattended.
(ABC 6 News) – Rochester police have put out a call for information related to a series of NE Rochester burglaries Nov. 28-29.
Capt. Casey Moilanen said RPD is asking homeowners in the areas of 13th Avenue NE and Northern Heights Drive NE to check their surveillance cameras for a suspicious individual, who may be lurking around empty homes or watching neighborhoods for departures.
RPD is asking homeowners in the areas of 13th Avenue NE and Northern Heights Drive NE to check their surveillance cameras for a suspicious individual, who may be lurking around empty homes or watching neighborhoods for departures.
The break-ins began Monday, Nov. 29, Moilanen said, when a 77-year-old woman in the 1900 block of 13th Avenue NE called law enforcement after leaving her home at 10 a.m. and returning to a ransacked house at about 3 p.m.
The woman found her front door forced open and saw lights on in her house she had switched off.
She retreated and called police to check the home.
Police found signs of forced entry, determined that the house was empty, and located a forced-open lockbox and open jewelry drawer.
Moilanen said large items and electronics had not been targeted.
There were two more burglaries with similar characteristics Tuesday afternoon.
About 5 blocks away from the first victim, a 94-year-old man left his home at about 3 p.m. Nov. 29 and returned at 6:30 p.m.
The man saw his back porch door had been kicked in, and a safe where he kept personal documents had been removed from an upstairs closet, taken to the kitchen, and broken open.
The man called RPD, who found a set of footprints leading to another home in the 600 block of Northern Heights Drive NE.
The 38-year-old homeowner had just arrived home after leaving around 4 p.m., and said his home had also been ransacked and a small safe was busted open.
Rochester police are awaiting loss and damage estimates from all parties.
Moilanen said the burglar was on foot for part of Tuesday afternoon, and may be visible on home surveillance cameras in the area.
Anyone with information can contact Rochester Police at 507-328-6800.
Moilanen said although the burglar has broken into locked homes the past two days, homeowners should lock their doors, pull vehicles into garages, and take steps to make their houses difficult targets.
The individual may be watching for people to leave their homes, he added, and neighbors should be on the lookout for people lurking or surveilling homes in their areas.
Those who can afford alarm systems or cameras can also use those to deter thieves, Moilanen said.
The burglaries Monday and Tuesday took place in NE Rochester, but Moilanen said residents of other parts of Rochester should also be on the lookout for people exhibiting suspicious behavior.