Terrace Park police warn of distraction-theft teams targeting older residents

Police Chief Administrator Jerry Hayhoe warned Village of Terrace Park residents and council members that teams of thieves have returned to the area, using a distraction method that targets older homeowners. "We have a group of thieves that come to the area... The MO is to distract homeowners, while another person enters their home and steals," Hayhoe said.

Hayhoe told the council that the tactic — in a recent case a man wearing a COVID mask pretended to be a waterworks employee and directed an elderly resident to go to the backyard while a companion ransacked the house — was reported locally last Saturday. He said suspects have posed as workers for utilities and sometimes use walkie-talkies to coordinate. "If there's any question at all, please don't hesitate to call us," he said, adding: "Call 911. It will only take a second, and we'll be there in no time at all."

Council members and other speakers at the meeting pressed for clarity about how residents should respond; Hayhoe stressed that seeing identification or badges is not always definitive and that legitimate workers will wait if asked to allow verification. A council member noted that solicitors must register in the village; Hayhoe and others emphasized that these suspects were not soliciting but posing as service workers.

The department encouraged neighbors to check on one another and to call police immediately when a visit feels suspicious. Officials said they will continue to share the warning across nearby jurisdictions and via village communications.