Suspicious activity in Douglas County, some attached to prescription drug thefts, has local authorities on the alert.
Douglas County Sheriff's Department detectives are warning residents of a possible ploy being used to give strangers access to bathroom medicine cabinets. In the last week, numerous calls of strangers doing just that have been reported in Poplar, Hawthorne, South Range and Amnicon, according to Det. Paul Lindberg. Three such visits were reported Sunday in Poplar, according to Sheriff's Department reports.
During each incident, the elderly homeowner was approached by a male and female, both in their 30s. The man said he was going around mowing lawns. As he spoke to the homeowner, the woman with him asked to use the bathroom.
Nothing was reported missing after they left, according to the reports, but one of the homeowners noted she heard her bedroom door close while the female was using the bathroom.
A number of reports have yet to be filed. Lindberg said one of the homeowners who reported a similar visit found prescription drugs missing after the incident; another noticed their medicine cabinet had been rifled through.
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At least one theft of prescription drugs from an unoccupied home in the same area was reported Sunday, as well.
"They're consistently going to places where older people live," Lindberg said. Two of the Poplar homeowners who reported incidents are 89; the other is 78.
Both detectives urged caution when dealing with strangers. "If people come to the door, don't let them in," Lindberg said. Get a license plate number and a description of the person(s) and car, he said, then call 911 to report it.
If strangers come to the door for help, Lindberg said, residents can offer to call the Sheriff's Department for them.
