HOMES RANSACKED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23702, 9 January 1939, Page 9

HOMES RANSACKED

OWNERS SUFFER HEAVY LOSS GOODS WORTH £2OO STOLEN (Per United Press Association) AUCKLAND, Jan. 7. Audacity, skill, and a keen sense of discrimination have characterised the activities of thieves who have entered a number of temporarily unoccupied homes in the city and suburbs during the holiday periods. Returning to their home in Paratai avenue, Orakei, last night after a fishing holiday at Taupo, Mr and Mrs P. E. Miller found that the house had been thoroughly ransacked. The thieves had gained access by forcing a side window, and had decamped with goods valued at between £l5O and £2OO. Mr and Mrs Miller, who had been away since Christmas, found that they had lost practically the whole of their wardrobes, Mr Miller being relieved of four new suits as well as two dress suits. Other articles stolen included a chiming clock, a new all-wave radio set, and a silver tea service. Apparently the thieves used a car or truck to take away the loot. Further Intrusions In two other instances the loss is assessed at about £4O and £2O respectively, and although securing only a few shillings, intruders in a fourth home were responsible for damage amounting to about £4. Pursuit and subsequent arrest preceded the actual discovery of a burglar at the residence of Mr J. Yock, of Epsom. Knowing the house to be unoccupied, a business associate of Mr Yock was passing in a car when he noticed a strange man at the door of the garage. When the car was stopped the man fled, and the motorist set off in pursuit, eventually losing the fugitive in the grounds of the Epsom Girls’ Grammar School. Subsequently a man was arrested when leaving a tramcar in Epsom by a constable from the Newmarket Police Station. An examination of Mr Yock’s house revealed that a window had been broken to gain entrance, and the intruder had searched many of the rooms. Articles of men’s wear constituted the bulk of the missing property, which was valued about £2O.