Something happened in the town of Orchid this month that hadn’t happened in more than a decade.
A burglary.
“We’ve had some reports of thefts, but there have been no forced-entry cases here in about 15 years,” Orchid Police Chief Phil Redstone said. “And the last reported theft was five or six years ago.
“So this is very unusual,” he added. “This town has a unique makeup in that we control access. Somehow, whoever did this got through the gate.”
According to Indian River County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Eric Flowers, the Feb. 8 burglary of a home on Sea Spray Lane, located within the Orchid Island Golf & Beach Club, was one of four in communities near the Wabasso Causeway the past five weeks.
The other three break-ins occurred in nearby neighborhoods in unincorporated parts of the county: on Indian Summer Lane in the Seasons at Orchid (Jan. 21); West Island Club Square in Island Club Manor (Jan. 23) and Live Oak Drive off the Wabasso Causeway (Jan. 29).
Flowers said an undetermined amount of jewelry was reported stolen in three of the four burglaries, and that electronic equipment was taken during the break-in on Live Oak Drive.
“We have a strong person of interest – a fellow who definitely could’ve committed the crimes – and we’re actively following up on leads,” Flowers said. “We believe it’s somebody who can move about in these communities without being noticed.”
In the meantime, Flowers said the Sheriff’s Office is working with Redstone and the Indian River Shores Public Safety Department to increase patrols and advise residents to take precautions, including locking their cars and doors, setting alarms and reporting any suspicious persons.
The rash of burglaries has not reached Indian River Shores, but concern about them has. Shores Public Safety Director Rich Rosell put out a statement last week noting the burglaries just to the town’s north, urging “all residents to be vigilant so we may keep those responsible for the burglaries out of our town.”
