Police in Elmhurst are cautioning residents after a pair of burglars set up a ruse to try and steal a homeowner’s valuables last week.
About 2 p.m. on Feb. 24, a man struck up a conversation about doing landscaping work for the person in the backyard of their home in the 200 block of South Poplar Avenue, according to Elmhurst police.
At the same time, a caretaker discovered an intruder inside the home who ran out to a car when she yelled, police said.
The intruder was described as a 6-foot, 150-pound white or Hispanic man in his 30s with short dark hair, wearing dark clothing. The man who distracted the homeowner was a 5-foot-7, 200-pound Hispanic man in gray clothes.
Police urge residents to be wary of people requesting to do home repair work or inspect property lines and fences.