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Police: Men pretending to be roofers steal from elderly woman

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Kissimmee police said they are searching for two men who scammed a 91-year-old woman in Osceola County.

According to police, the men showed up at the victim's home on Smith Street over the weekend. One of them told her his grandfather owned the company that installed the roof and he needed to make some repairs.

Lois Dale said the man was a fast talker and his elaborate story even included details of a roof warranty.

"Were you scared?" WFTV reporter Nancy Alvarez asked Dale.

"No, I was just mad," said Dale.

"I said 'No, I'm not going to go along with this. Something's not right,'" said Dale.

By then the man had talked his way into Dale's back yard, where police say he tried to keep her distracted talking about loose shingles.

In just a matter of minutes Lois said she realized there was nothing wrong with her roof, so she said she told the man to leave and walked straight back into her house.

She said that moments later she was in her living room when she saw the second suspect who had been out in the car. He was walking out of her bathroom.

"I said, 'What are you doing in my house? I'm going to call the police,'" said Dale

Dale said the man posing as a roofer had followed her inside and she chased them both out. She said she then confronted one of them as he tried to cover up the tag on their getaway car.

"Just with his legs right up against the back end, so I could not see the license plate. He had big old fat legs and I got right up against him, looking at him," said Dale.

After the men drove off, Dale said she noticed cash missing from her purse. Police said they could have taken a lot more if she hadn't followed her instincts.

Dale wasn't able to get the tag number but she did give police a good description of at least one of the men.

Anyone with information is asked to call Crimeline at 800-423-TIPS (8477).