Hello Neighbours,
Late last night (28 December) around 23:00 hrs after Angela had gone to bed, I was watching the Monday night football game. The door bell rang and I made my way up stairs to answer the door. A youngish woman in distress asked to use my phone, she said she was attracted to my door as the light was on and she needed to contact some people concerning someone who had had a heart attack. I was taken by surprise at the notion of someone suffering a heart attack so, acting on impulse, I invited her in to use the phone.
She mentioned an address on Southport Drive (the street opposite Solera Circle across Cahill Drive). I offered her the phone and she dialed a number (NOT 9-1-1) and twice got a busy signal. Frustrated she handed me the hand set and asked me to dial, I declined but suggested I would call 9-1-1 and the police to which she immediately began to take her leave. Angela appeared from the bedroom which served as a further motive for this woman to exit. I then realized how really odd this situation was, so I followed after her only to see the tail end of a van or SUV heading south on Solera Circle.
We retrieved the phone number which she had dialed and tried to contact a party on the receiving end only to have a busy signal. We called the police and made a report and several minutes later two Ottawa Police Officers appeared on our stoop and asked us to rehash the event. Once again today we attempted to connect with the owner of that phone number only to find that the number was out of service.
I have run these events through my mind many times since and I have come up with the following scenarios:
- There was indeed a person who had suffered a heart attack, this person was hospitalized and this woman was attempting to contact someone who resided on Southport however that person would not answer the door at that late hour so she desperately searched the surrounding neighborhood for a light that was on so she could use that persons phone.
- This person was casing out my space to determine what if any security deterrents I have, perhaps swipe a wallet or purse on her way out?
- This was a failed home invasion,someone else was supposed to appear when the phone call was made but the line was busy and the woman panicked when she realized I wasn't wakened from a deep sleep and there were two of us to cope with.
The mind works in mysterious ways and perhaps mine is in overdrive, I send this on to you as a heads-up. Be aware there are people out there with different agendas.
Jim and Angela Graves 152 Solera Circle
We had a similar event happen to us at175 Solera where a woman came to the door late at night saying she needed money to drive her ailing mother to Pembroke
ReplyDeleteBill
Hi all
ReplyDeleteI was also up watching football on main floor with outdoor and indoor lights on. This person would have passed my house to get to Jim's. A more likely theory is she didn't stop at mine because they could see me upstairs and they're looking for empty houses. She rang Jim's house since no one was upstairs to confirm no one was home and when Jim came up from the basement she just used lame excuse to cover her actions so sh could leave. thanks Andre
Dear Solera neighbours;
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately I had a very similar experience the same evening (Monday night) with that person and feel pretty stupid about it. I answered the door at 11:30 p.m. -- my mom and I were chatting in the living room and the doorbell rang. I opened it to this woman who seemed in some difficulty and who asked if she could use my phone to call someone in Stittsville because her grandmother was sick or in the hospital, possible heart attack, and she tried this number to her 'brother' several times, but it was busy. Then she said she did not have much gas "driving on fumes" and had gone to the gas stations 'over there' and 'over there', to use the phone but could not reach him. I asked her if she was a member of CAA but she said it had expired and offered the information that she was a cleaning lady. She gave me some story which seemed to get more bizarre the longer we spoke, involving something that her brother was supposed to be bringing her gas from Stittsville. I stupidly ended up giving her $10 for which she thanked me and said 'god bless you' as she walked out, saying she would bring it back in a couple of hours. I told her not to bother but just leave it in the mail box if she was intending to come back. Of course she wasn't coming back! As I was listening to all this I was thinking she smelled of alcohol and cigarettes. I asked where her purse was, she said she had left in her truck "just down the street". I looked out and saw a vehicle parked near the corner by the mailboxes and thought it strange someone would not bring their purse with them. After she left I began to realize I had been scammed. I thought I would probably find her down at Tuscon's. I called the police yesterday morning and the woman I spoke to said that no crime had been committed, I had invited her in and given her money which she had in fact not asked for. The police told me I did not need to answer my door to someone I didn't know, or let them in to use my phone. They told me to call the police and ask for assistance if someone was asking for help, which is what I should have done. The police didn't take my name, but I am thinking that if the Graves made a report, perhaps I should. I think I was trying to make sense of this stupid story that of course made no sense because it was a lie. I also took down the number she used on my phone, it was busy all the time, including the next day.
Lesson learned.
Marilyn Smith
131 Solera Circle