Family offers $5K reward for stolen jewelry
A church-going family is offering a cash reward to track down the brazen thieves who broke into their home while they were at mass and stole $400,000 worth of jewelry.
Maureen Greff has posted a $5,000 bounty for the return of her "treasures" and capture of the crooks, after what police say is among the largest residential thefts ever in the area.
"There were a lot of very sentimental pieces," said Greff. "There was a nice watch that belonged to my fatherinlaw, and there were items that I received for the birth of my children and for anniversaries. It's very upsetting.
"It's an invasion of your privacy, you feel like you've been violated. It's very sad."
Essex County OPP said the heist happened at the home in the posh Russell Woods area between 8: 50 a.m. and 10: 50 a.m. Sunday. Maureen and Emod Greff and their family were at church. The culprits got away with about $400,000 worth of jewelry that included gold, pearls, earrings, rings, necklaces and Rolex watches.
Sgt. Rick Tonial said it ranks among one of the biggest residential break-ins in the county.
"Talking to all the crime guys here that have been around the community for a long time, it's one of the higher-end ones," said Tonial. "Top 10 would be safe, top five we're getting close to it."
But he added that for many victims, it's not always about the money.
"Sometimes you have a ring that has more personal value than it does monetary value," said Tonial.
Neither he nor Greff would comment on what kind of security system, if any, is installed in the home. But Tonial did say it appears the jewelry was not stored in a safe.
"At this point I don't think it was," he said. "It was secured, but not secured enough."
Tonial said if you have any-thing that's important to you, whether it's monetary or sentimental value, you should lock it up, and not in a portable safe.
"People need to put it in a safe that is actually secured to cement or walls or something that cannot be removed by a suspect," said Tonial.
Given the bold nature of Sunday's crime and the time of day, police are investigating the possibly that it was an inside job. Police were looking into who might have had ac-cess to the house. Tonial said the "MO" suggests the culprits knew the victims wouldn't be home.
"Most B&Es to homes aren't during daytime hours unless they're confident," said Tonial. "Suspects usually don't want to be caught. They don't want to be found by homeowners or anybody like that."
Greff said it's frightening to think of the possibilities if she or any of her family were home when the intruders broke in.
"You wonder if perhaps who-ever came in was armed, what might have happened."
Greff said everything seemed fine in her home when she returned from church Sun-day, until she headed up to her bedroom.
"I went up to my room and I noticed that somebody had been there," she said. "I was in shock, just shock. We were in shock all day yesterday and we are still in shock. I'm glad nobody was hurt. But you're angry. It's terribly upsetting.
"We would really appreciate any help anyone can give us to solve this crime and hopefully get back our treasures."
Investigators ask anyone with information about the break-in to call 519-723-2491 or Crime Stoppers.
twilhelm@windsorstar.com
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