Monte Vista pensioner Jacoba McCleeve, 73, is living in fear after a con woman entered her home under false pretences and made off with her valuables.
Ms McCleeve said on Saturday July 22, at 10.30am, while her husband Alec, 79, was on their stoep talking to the gardener, a woman appeared in front of their house.
“My front gate was closed but not locked as my husband had a stroke and does not walk very fast so he leaves the gate unlocked so he can access the house quickly. The woman appeared and asked if she could borrow a sheet of paper and a pen. She was looking for my opposite neighbour and wanted to leave a letter with me,” she said.
Ms McCleeve said before she knew it, the woman had pushed passed her husband and made her way into the house.
“When I realised what was happening the woman was standing behind me.”
Ms McCleeve described the con woman as tall, with black hair that curled at the bottom. She had a gold tooth and was wearing blue jeans with a white striped top.
“She then told me she was thinking about building onto her own house which she said was similar to ours. I then took her through the house. I was scared because I did not know what she could possibly be hiding under her top”.
Ms McCleeve after she had shown the woman the house she asked to use the toilet.
“After she used the toilet she left the house like a bolt of lightning. After she left I went to my Samsung Smartphone which was charging in the kitchen. That is when I discovered that my phone was gone. I then realised my purse and two empty cash boxes and jewellery were gone. Luckily, the woman didn’t steal my house keys which were in my bag.”
Ms McCleeve said the gardener saw the woman getting into a green Polo, with tinted windows, driven by a man. He was not able to take down the registration number of the vehicle.
“We called Goodwood police straight away and reported the incident. Members of District Watch were the first on the scene”.
Ms McCleeve said she is living in fear.
“I am so scared now that I keep my front door and gate locked at all times. Yesterday my priest visited and he told me rather to stay indoors than to greet him goodbye from my stoep.”
She urged residents and especially pensioners not to open their doors for anyone.
“I haven’t heard of anyone in the area having a similar incident. We have been living here for 27 years and this is the first time something like this has happened to us. We are elderly; we can’t defend ourselves. It can happen to anybody but the elderly are more vulnerable.”
Station commander of Goodwood police Lieutenant Colonel Hennie Rademeyer confirmed that a case of theft had been opened at the station. “The complainant and her husband said the con woman claimed that she wanted to leave a message for their neighbour with them.”
Lieutenant Colonel Rademeyer said the con woman had not struck again. “We plan on hosting a safety awareness talk with the elderly in the community to prevent them from falling prey to criminals.”
He urged the elderly to be careful and not to allow strangers into their homes.