It was when she found the door to her bedroom closed that Cindy knew something was wrong.
“My heart just sank,” she said.
Not wanting to have her full name used out of fear of reprisal, Cindy, who returned home from work on April 29 to discover that someone had entered her home and stolen a number of items, including several “family heirlooms,” was one of more than half-a-dozen Olds residents who were victims of what police are calling a “rash” of break and enters last month.
Someone had pushed a screen in on a window Cindy and her husband had left slightly open while at work to gain access to her home on 49th Street.
When Cindy arrived home late that afternoon and discovered the door shut, along with muddy footprints in the hallway, she asked her husband why he had closed the door.
When he said he hadn't, Cindy knew they had been victims of a break-and- enter.
Among the items stolen were a camera, a spotting scope for a rifle, a gold chain with a diamond setting within a Zodiac symbol that belonged to Cindy's grandmother, an opal ring and one of her mother's diamond earrings.
“I'm devastated over this jewelry,” she said. “It's family heirlooms. I was frantic. I phoned pawn shops but they don't give you information.”
Since her husband had come home between 12 and 1 p.m., the thief or thieves must have entered the home some time between 1 p.m. and when her husband returned home from work between 3:30 and 4 p.m.
Cindy said she also believes someone must have spooked the intruder since other jewelry in the room, including the second earring, was left behind.
Police believe the break-and-enter at Cindy's home is linked to six other break-ins dating back to April 7.
Acting Cpl. S.D. Bereza, a spokesman for the Olds RCMP, said police have identified a male suspect who lives in Olds but have not made any arrests as the investigation into the thefts is continuing.
The first in the series of break-ins was reported to police on April 7 after someone gained access to a rental property on Shannon Drive through a basement window.
The suspect or suspects broke a number of tiles in a bathroom at the residence but nothing was taken and the intruder left through a side door.
A television and a DVD player were stolen from a home near the intersection of 45 Street and 47 Avenue in a break-in reported to police on April 12.
Since no damage to any door or window was found, police believe the suspect or suspects entered through a door that was left unlocked.
Five days later, a break-in at a residence near the intersection of 48 Avenue and 56 Street was reported where someone had gained entry through unlocked front doors.
The intruders went through a jewelry box and brought a computer to the front door but it appears they were spooked before they could take anything, Bereza said.
During a break-in reported to police on April 18, entry was gained to a residence near the intersection of 48 Avenue and 46 Street when a small window on a locked door was smashed with a brick.
A box of jewelry, a camera, a BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and change were taken.
On April 25, it was reported a suspect or suspects had entered a home near the intersection of 56 Street and 55 Avenue through a dog door and had removed items from the home.
And, on the same day Cindy's home was broken into, it was reported that someone broke into a residence near the intersection of 46 Street and 46 Avenue while the owners were on holiday.
Jewelry and a wallet were taken and Bereza said the break-in must have happened a few days earlier since someone tried to use a Sears MasterCard belonging to a person living at that home at an Olds business on April 25.
Bereza said since the break-ins happened so close together in geography and time, police believe they are connected.
He added the similarities between the break-ins suggest they are linked and the suspect police believe is involved is likely behind all seven incidents because of the way the homes were entered and what was taken.
“That's their M.O.,” he said.
Anyone with information about these crimes is asked to contact Olds RCMP at 403-556-3323 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.
