A woman captured on security video stealing drugs and cash from residents' rooms at Evergreen Assisted Living in Cloquet on Nov. 29 reportedly hit a Duluth assisted living facility earlier in the month, according to Cloquet Police Detective Darrin Berg.
Berg said a resident of Lakeshore Assisted Living, 4002 London Road, reported to Duluth police earlier in November that three diamond rings and $50 were missing from her apartment. When she saw a newspaper report and photo of the Cloquet assisted living thief, she called police and said she believed it to be the same woman she encountered at her apartment around the time she noticed the items were missing.
"The Lakeshore resident said she had left her apartment for only a matter of 7-10 minutes before returning to find the woman there," Berg reported. "Upon being discovered, the woman in question reportedly asked the resident, 'Are you Mary?' and then moved on."
Berg said the Lakeshore resident described the woman as short with a stocky build and wearing a heavy coat, turned inside out, as well as a cap. When Berg showed the resident the security tape of the Evergreen intruder on Tuesday, the Lakeshore resident verified that the woman on the tape was the same woman she encountered at her Duluth apartment.
Berg said police have received a number of leads in the local case, but so far none have led to an arrest.
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In the Cloquet incident, Berg said video surveillance tapes at Evergreen Assisted Living showed the female intruder entering the facility and proceeding to the third floor around 5:15 p.m., when most residents were downstairs in the dining room. After trying numerous doorknobs, the woman entered at least four apartments that were unlocked, stealing prescription medication at one and cash from another.
In a related incident, residents of nearby Suncrest Assisted Living in Scanlon reported the same woman attempted entry at several residents' apartments later that night, though all of the residents were home at the time. Upon encountering the residents in their apartments, the intruder allegedly used excuses about mistaken identity similar to the one used in the Duluth incident. Staff and residents at Suncrest later viewed the Evergreen surveillance tapes and identified the woman as being the same one who came through their facility.
Anyone with any information regarding these or similar incidents is asked to call Cloquet Police at (218) 879-1247.
