Vacationing couple returns fraud victims

A Holmes Beach couple returned from a European vacation in early November to find their home burglarized, their bank checks forged and cashed and their car stolen.

The crimes, reported Nov. 6 by Barbara and David Hines, are under investigation by the Holmes Beach Police Department. An HBPD officer said Nov. 12 an all-points bulletin was issued in the search for the stolen car.

Barbara Hines, in an interview with The Islander Nov. 12, suggested observant Islanders might help locate the car: a Mazda Miata convertible, black with a light brown ragtop and showing off Obama for president and Anna Maria Island Turtle Watch stickers on the rear. Also, she asked for information from anyone who might recall seeing anything out of the ordinary between Oct. 21 and Nov. 5 in the 100 block of 81st Street in Holmes Beach, where the Hines reside.

Hines, an artist and former judge, is wondering about witnesses, although she says she knows the identity of the person who stole her property while she and her husband were vacationing in Italy. Hines suspects the woman the couple hired to care for their two cats and dog while they were away.

“There is no doubt in my mind,” she said.

Hines hired a woman, whose name has been withheld pending the outcome of the HBPD investigation, to pet-visit for $15 a day and to do about 10 hours of housecleaning.

“We paid half in advance,” she said.

The couple secured their home. “I hid my purse. I hid my keys,” Hines said. “We did what we thought was smart.”

And then they embarked on a trip to Italy.

While overseas, they encountered repeated problems when trying to use credit and debit cards and secure cash advances on those cards. At one point, having had to use their Euros for purchases they had planned to put on credit cards, the Hines found themselves so low on funds they had to skip dinner.

“We were calling and calling,” Hines said of their attempts to deal with the banks. “Over and over and over again. It was awful.”

Something, somewhere was wrong.

They realized how wrong things were when they returned to Holmes Beach.

“We drove into the driveway and David’s car was missing,” Hines said.

Other property was missing, including a Coach purse, a wallet, keys, jewelry, clothing, shoes, commemorative coins, artwork and about $125 in cash, according to Hines.

“All of my good jewelry,” said Hines. “And some that wasn’t.”

The couple found an emptied bottle of Jim Beam in their home and their animals neglected. A cat, Reba, had been locked in a bedroom. Hines speculated the cat survived by drinking from the toilet. A dog, Lucky, had escaped the home to be fed at nearby Haley’s Motel.

“Luckily Lucky escaped,” Hines said. “If Lucky hadn’t gotten out, he would have been dead.”

Not missing were their voicemails, including one left by a Discover card representative inquiring about possible fraudulent use of their credit card. The card had been used at two retail stores, including once at 2 a.m.

The couple also quickly learned that at least eight of their checks had been forged and cashed for a total of $670.

Hines said the checks were written and cashed by the woman they hired to pet-sit.

Hines also said a bank representative said in one incident on Oct. 22 a woman in the black Mazda went to the bank to cash a check. The bank representative inquired about the Hines’ car, and said the woman told him she was watching the Hines’ home while they vacationed.

The couple heard from a bank representative at a different branch, who said she refused to cash a check on the Hines’ account for a woman who “seemed off,” and from Amscot, the “money superstore,” which reported that a woman tried to cash checks on the Hines’ account at six locations.

Hines said the woman they hired has not been located and a boyfriend who resides on the Island told police she had moved out about a week after the Hines left for vacation.