ST. CLAIR SHORES, Mich. – Norm Ream, 83, and his wife have lived in their St. Clair Shores home since 1966. But even after all of those years, they became a victim of a neighborhood crime for the first time last week.
"You don't think it's ever going to happen to you, but it did," Ream said.
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According to police, a man pulled up to Ream's house on Deanhurst Street Monday at about 4 p.m.
The man, who was wearing a ball cap and T-shirt, told Ream he needed to take measurements for a new fence going up in the neighborhood.
"I said, 'Fine, go ahead.' But he told me, 'Well, sir, I can't go in your backyard without you with me, it's the rules,'" Ream said.
So, Norm took the man he thought he could trust to his backyard -- hook, line and sinker. The plan was to get Ream out of the house so two other men could get in.
"I was back there with the guy, even held the tape measure for him while he took a phony measurement," said Ream. "While we were back here, two other men ran in the house into our back bedroom and took all the jewelry they could."
But the house wasn't empty.
Ream's 81-year-old wife was sitting in the front window doing a crossword puzzle. She didn't even notice the men, but they got away with some of her most prized possessions.
"They took several rings, including her wedding band, a ruby ring, a few necklaces and a tennis bracelet," Ream said.
Police warn these types are scams are all about targeting vulnerable, trustworthy people -- and because Norm is a trustworthy guy, his wife's wedding band representing 59 years of marriage is gone, possibly for good.
Police are looking for three men driving a newer model blue Chevy truck.
St. Clair Shores police have learned the same suspects tried the same scam on an elderly lady in Macomb Twp. Near M-59 and Hall Road in the last few days.
If you have any information you're asked to call St. Clair Shores police.