Thieves target burned home

Friday, December 29, 2006

Being the victim of a house fire the day after Christmas is bad enough. But losing your remaining valuables to thieves the next day is even worse.

It happened to a Greencastle family whose home on Lazy Acres Drive was severely damaged by fire Tuesday morning.

According to a police report, someone apparently broke into the home being rented by Jamie and Angela Featherstone and made off with several items just hours after fire left its mark on the home.

Among the items targeted by the thieves was a children's piggy bank that the family found broken and lying on the floor.

Putnam County Sheriff's Deputy Matt Demmings was dispatched to the home shortly after 2 p.m. Wednesday after the Featherstones arrived home to find the house had been burglarized.

According to a police report, the Featherstones left the Cloverdale motel where they were staying Wednesday morning and drove to the home to meet with the insurance adjuster. When they arrived, they noticed the two rear doors of the home were standing open.

Once inside the home, the family found that someone had made off with several items that were not severely damaged by the fire.

Demmings said the items included a 61-inch big screen television, stereo equipment, compact disc player, satellite system and DVD player.

Also missing was a child's leather coat which had been partially melted in the fire, a pad of checks, Anglea Featherstone's jewelry box, which included a cross necklace and gold ring that had belonged to her mother, along with money from the children's piggy bank.

Demmings spoke with several neighbors including one man who said he heard voices outside the home at around 9 p.m. Tuesday.

The man said he woke up the next morning and observed a white, medium-sized car pull into the driveway and then back out, according to a police report.

Another neighbor reported seeing several vehicles in front of the home at around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, including a light-colored pickup truck and a turqoise-colored van with tinted windows.

Police believe the thefts occurred sometime between 5 p.m. Tuesday and 2 p.m. Wednesday.

The family was not at home when the fire broke out at around noon on Tuesday.

Firefighters said the fire started in the ceiling between the kitchen and bedroom and was electrical.

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to call the Putnam County Sheriff's Department at 653-1810.

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