Three residential break-ins under investigation by the Warsaw Police Department may be linked to a series of burglaries being probed by area law enforcement agencies.

WPD, Winona Lake Police Department and the Kosciusko County Sheriff's Office have all received reports in recent weeks of purses, wallets, cash and jewelry being taken from homes in the Warsaw area. In many cases, the homes have been occupied by sleeping residents, and the items are generally taken from the kitchen or family room areas.

Capt. Steve Foster of the WPD said it is important for residents to secure all doors and windows at their homes, and to remove keys and valuables from vehicles - even when they are parked inside garages.

In the most recent cases, three homes were broken into in two adjacent subdivisions on Warsaw's east side.

Leona G. Miller of Colonial Drive, Warsaw, and Sharry L. Woodling, Sandpoint Drive, Warsaw, reported purses missing Monday from their residences in Timber Ridge Estates.

In the Miller incident, the purse and a man's wallet were discovered missing when Mr. Miller went to retrieve his wallet from atop a cabinet near the kitchen. Mrs. Miller's purse was taken from the kitchen. Both items were located by police in a soybean field behind the Miller residence after an officer spotted a piece of paper near the edge of the field. Money was missing from the purse and wallet, and police also found another purse in the field.

That purse belonged to Cathryn Macdonald of Lydia Drive, Warsaw, in the Patterson Woods subdivision. When police drove to her home, she described her missing purse to them and it was returned. However, she said that $30 and her driver's license were missing from it. Macdonald's purse had been in a vehicle inside her garage.

While there are similarities among these and other residential break-ins, police are reluctant to tie them all together. Officials do, however, urge residents to report any suspicious people or activity in their neighborhoods. [[In-content Ad]]