According to a recent report from NBC News, a man from Puyallup, Washington, who was in the process of selling his family’s home, pulled into the driveway last Tuesday and discovered something wasn’t quite right. Ed Saurds, 58, expected to see his real estate agent’s car, but instead, saw an unknown Chevy that belonged to a young man who was waiting in the front hall.
“I asked: What are you doing in my house?” the former Air Force loadmaster remembered. “He said, ‘I’m here to buy the microwave.’ I said, ‘My microwave is not for sale.'”
While Saurs was away, an intruder had broken into his house, used it as a landing pad, and began selling his personal belongings on the internet. The items sold included a lawnmower, an iPod, the microwave, and Saur’s 84-year-old father’s golf clubs. The man who Saurs encountered initially was not the culprit, but one of the customers of the scam. Saurs recalls seeing the real perpetrator down the hall in the kitchen.
“He peered around and saw me coming, [so] I ran out the side and chased him.”
Unfortunately, his chase was unsuccessful, and the suspect escaped, though his image was caught on a nearby surveillance camera. Saurs reports several thousand dollars’ worth of items were stolen, including the new refrigerator and the house’s convection oven, known for cooking food 25% faster with less energy. (Points that probably contributed to the items’ speedy sales.) The appliances didn’t bother Ed nearly as much as the invasion of privacy.
“We’ve got 25 years of memories here. Christmases. My daughter was married in the backyard. …To cap it off with a violation like this? It doesn’t sit real well.”
Police took fingerprints from a water bottle left in the house by the suspect, who also left behind some assorted drug paraphernalia. No word from police on whether or not they’ve found a match.