"I felt so dumb, absolutely stupid," said the robbery victim, who didn't want to be identified.
This 89-year-old says she and her husband are among the most recent victims of clever thieves.
"A very good con artist," she said.
Last week a man came to their door posing as a utility worker with the county, showed an ID and the couple invited him into their backyard so that he could take measurements ahead of a project that would bury the power lines in the backyard. But while they were in the back with him, a partner was inside their home stealing their valuables.
"All of my mother's sterling silver, which was beautiful, beautiful sterling was gone," the victim said. "He was very particular, just took certain items. My purse was right here in the kitchen. He didn't touch it."
News of that robbery and another have residents here concerned about their typically secluded neighborhood.
"You really have to know where you're going to get back here," said resident Jessica Lewis. "People don't just pass by here every day -- one way in, one way out."
It wasn't just this neighborhood in Conroe. A few miles south in Spring, a homeowner there was victimized in their backyard. In that neighborhood a man followed home an elderly driver, then insisted on helping the man with his groceries before luring him into the backyard to talk about cutting down some trees. Inside the house, another man was robbing him.
"Crime is up a little bit," said resident Carolyn Green. "What scares me most is them following you home."
Green has lived here 20 years and is seeing the crime creep in.
"They stole a couple of ladders and a bicycle," she said. "If it was beside the house, they would come and get them."
A shame, they all tell us, that thieves would target retirees, trusting of those around them.
Authorities don't believe the two cases are related, but they recommend everyone in Montgomery County lock their doors. And if anyone comes to your door presenting themselves as a utility worker, you're advised to contact the agency they claim to be with to see if anyone was indeed sent to your neighborhood.
Crime Stoppers will pay up to a $1000 cash reward for information leading to an arrest or indictment of a felony crime. Call 800-392-STOP (7867). Anonymous tips can also be made through the Montgomery County Crime Stoppers online at www.montgomerycountycrimestoppers.org.
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