Northland town hit by thefts targeting precious valuables
WEATHERBY LAKE, Mo. — Police in Weatherby Lake, Missouri, say they are seeing an increase in reported thefts targeting unlocked cars and garages, especially at night.
It’s a continuation of FOX4’s coverage of burglaries in the area – with similar trends reported in nearby rural Platte County during the summer.
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Authorities are giving some pretty straightforward advice on this: People should be mindful of consistently locking their doors and keeping valuables out of sight.
On Wednesday, William Dennis Scheck brought in his garbage under the watchful eyes of holiday inflatables. But word of burglaries happening under Santa’s watch isn’t a calming thought.
“I’ve been this way since I got out of Vietnam. Don’t trust nobody and don’t trust anything. And since I was broke in twice in my lifetime, I watch myself,” Scheck said.
He said, relatively recently, his son’s truck was stolen nearby. A member of the neighborhood watch told FOX4 she’s received reports of similar activity — with suspects even hitting unlocked exterior doors of homes.
For some families nearby, it’s an interesting question of security.
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“I started working on this about three years ago,” said Ian Lambert, approaching a circular door leading to his basement.
“I thought, if I was going to choose a door, what door would it be? Well, it’s got to be a hobbit door,” Lambert said.
Lambert also said he has not been targeted. But he has thought a lot about securing his basement that channels The Shire.
“It can only be locked from the inside. And so what will happen is — especially in the summertime, not so much now because it’s so cold out — but whenever they’re going in and out of this, this interior door has deadbolt and a standard lock on it,” Lambert said.
“And like, I don’t know how many times in the movie they just like, Frodo walks in and leaves the door open. But that happens in movies a lot,” Lambert said.
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“It’s always a little bit of a disappointment to not be able to just go into the actual hobbit house on the inside. It’s just a basement right now,” he said with a laugh.
Police are telling people in this area of Weatherby Lake to call them if they see suspicious people or cars driving around.
In past investigations, Platte County authorities suspected in rural areas that it was possible that just one person doing criminal activity could push a trend like this forward.
