Break-in culprits take everything … including the kitchen sink

By Allison Scarbrough. OCP Editor.

NEWFIELD TWP. — Like the old saying goes, “everything but the kitchen sink,” the culprits who broke into a foreclosed-upon home in the 5600 block of Loop Road, stole everything. However, they took the kitchen sink.

Oceana County Sheriff’s Office detectives are investigating the breaking and entering that occurred some time last weekend, said Lt. Craig Mast. A collections manager checked on the home last Friday, May 8, and everything appeared to be in order, but she returned Tuesday, May 12, and found that the home had been stripped of many items, including interior doors, laminate hardwood flooring, a treated wood deck, a backyard fire pit, light fixtures, smoke detectors, a water softener, shower heads, deadbolts, an overhead garage door, electrical wiring and the kitchen sink.

“Neighbors saw some activity and assumed it was normal moving activity,” Mast said. However, detectives contacted the home’s previous owners, and it was determined that they were not involved. Based on the neighbors’ observations, detectives have leads in the case, Mast said, and have a name of a possible suspect. It appears the brazen intruders pried open an east entry door, Mast said, due to the pry marks observed by investigators. The stolen items and damage to the home totals “tens of thousands of dollars,” Mast said.

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the sheriff’s office at 231-873-2121.