I had been looking for this for awhile and finally found it:
Store owner robbed Thieves pose as Gas Service workers.
The Kansas City Star - Friday, October 29, 1993
Author: KELLY GARBUS, Staff Writer
Two armed men posing as Gas Service workers stole thousands of dollars Thursday from the owner of Riverside's Red-X General Store.
Ed Young, 81, his wife, Carla, 82, and Jerrie Buford, a 53-year-old household employee, were all bound with duct tape. They were shaken by the experience but not injured.
"It was an experience," said Ed Young. "When you get to be 80 years old, if you don't stay calm you're not going to make it to 90. " Riverside Police Chief Bob Bayless said no arrests had been made by Thursday evening.
The robbers were two white men in their mid- to late 40s, both of heavy build, one short and one tall. Both were wearing hard hats, tennis shoes and sunglasses. They were driving a white van.
Young said Buford had gone to the couple's garage about 9 a.m. to warm up the car for Carla Young's routine trip to breakfast. He said two men approached the women, said they were Gas Service employees and told them there was a gas leak in their house.
Carla Young, Buford and the two men - who were not wearing uniforms - entered the house. Once they located Ed Young, they pulled handguns and told the three it was a holdup.
Ed Young said everything happened so fast he didn't have time to suspect their plot or even fear that he might be killed. He said the robbery was "instantaneous. " "They bolted in and were very proficient," he said.
Ed Young said the robbers called him by name and said they knew he kept money in the house. Young said he doesn't keep large sums of money in the house but did have a briefcase with cash in it from the recent sale of a car.
Young declined to say how much money was taken, but Bayless said it was several thousand dollars. Five handguns also were stolen .
Young said the men believed there was still more money and began to ransack his home but were unable to find any cash.
"All I had I cheerfully gave to him," Young said.
The Youngs and Buford were bound with duct tape during the ordeal, which lasted about a hour. Buford was able to wriggle loose and freed the Youngs about 10 a.m. "You have to respect them; they were very skilled, they knew what they wanted and they went after it," Young said. "They didn't offer to kill me and we feel very lucky we did not get bumped on the head. " Bayless said the Youngs have a "high profile in the community" and that the robbery was not a random act.
"He has been here forever and the Red-X has been here forever," Bayless said. "This was awell-organized robbery. " Tom Taylor, a spokesman for Gas Service in Kansas City, said Thursday that company employees almost never arrive at a residence unannounced. They normally would check for leaks outside the house.
Taylor said employees wear either blue or gray uniforms that say "Gas Service" on them and carry photo identification. He said anyone in doubt about the identity of an employee should call Gas Service.
Mike Messer, a spokesman for Kansas City Power & Light Co., said employees for that utility also carry identification.
"All our employees carry picture IDs and they should be happy to produce them at request," he said, "If they don't then you can assume they are not who they say they are. " If a person refuses to produce identification, the resident should close the door and immediately call the police , Messer said.
Edition: METROPOLITAN
Section: METROPOLITAN
Page: C1
Record Number: 195265
Now, I realize that this is a stretch and I am nearly positive that these two cases aren't related, but I just wanted to think out loud for a minute. The people who were robbed in this case said that the assailants were very skilled and obviously knew what they were doing. This indicates that they had pulled this ruse off before. We have the white van. We have more than 1 armed perpetrator disguised as a utility worker and carrying fake credentials. There is difficulty in the fact that the criminals were very successful in this case, didn't kill anyone, got away with the money they wanted, ransacked the house, and targeted someone that they knew had money. Those things don't fit with our 3MW case. But, what if they were abducted in the early morning rather than during the night... say 7 or 8 a.m., around the same time this other incident happened. Maybe they were even there when Janelle called the first time. If they had entered the house at 8, they would have just had time to get everyone subdued, bound, and gagged when the phone started ringing. Maybe due to the phone ringing one of the girls said "I'm supposed to be somewhere, someone is going to come looking for me." Maybe that coupled with the dog barking panicked the attackers and they left the house, taking the women, without taking the money.
Believe me, I know this is a HUGE longshot and is probably nothing, but isn't it a bit coincidental that police originally thought a ruse had been used to enter the home and a white van was seen, and then this happens a year later and it is obvious that the perps have done it before? Maybe they learned how to be more careful. There are sooooo many things that this DOESN'T explain, but I just wanted to throw it out there for thought.
Store owner robbed Thieves pose as Gas Service workers.
The Kansas City Star - Friday, October 29, 1993
Author: KELLY GARBUS, Staff Writer
Two armed men posing as Gas Service workers stole thousands of dollars Thursday from the owner of Riverside's Red-X General Store.
Ed Young, 81, his wife, Carla, 82, and Jerrie Buford, a 53-year-old household employee, were all bound with duct tape. They were shaken by the experience but not injured.
"It was an experience," said Ed Young. "When you get to be 80 years old, if you don't stay calm you're not going to make it to 90. " Riverside Police Chief Bob Bayless said no arrests had been made by Thursday evening.
The robbers were two white men in their mid- to late 40s, both of heavy build, one short and one tall. Both were wearing hard hats, tennis shoes and sunglasses. They were driving a white van.
Young said Buford had gone to the couple's garage about 9 a.m. to warm up the car for Carla Young's routine trip to breakfast. He said two men approached the women, said they were Gas Service employees and told them there was a gas leak in their house.
Carla Young, Buford and the two men - who were not wearing uniforms - entered the house. Once they located Ed Young, they pulled handguns and told the three it was a holdup.
Ed Young said everything happened so fast he didn't have time to suspect their plot or even fear that he might be killed. He said the robbery was "instantaneous. " "They bolted in and were very proficient," he said.
Ed Young said the robbers called him by name and said they knew he kept money in the house. Young said he doesn't keep large sums of money in the house but did have a briefcase with cash in it from the recent sale of a car.
Young declined to say how much money was taken, but Bayless said it was several thousand dollars. Five handguns also were stolen .
Young said the men believed there was still more money and began to ransack his home but were unable to find any cash.
"All I had I cheerfully gave to him," Young said.
The Youngs and Buford were bound with duct tape during the ordeal, which lasted about a hour. Buford was able to wriggle loose and freed the Youngs about 10 a.m. "You have to respect them; they were very skilled, they knew what they wanted and they went after it," Young said. "They didn't offer to kill me and we feel very lucky we did not get bumped on the head. " Bayless said the Youngs have a "high profile in the community" and that the robbery was not a random act.
"He has been here forever and the Red-X has been here forever," Bayless said. "This was awell-organized robbery. " Tom Taylor, a spokesman for Gas Service in Kansas City, said Thursday that company employees almost never arrive at a residence unannounced. They normally would check for leaks outside the house.
Taylor said employees wear either blue or gray uniforms that say "Gas Service" on them and carry photo identification. He said anyone in doubt about the identity of an employee should call Gas Service.
Mike Messer, a spokesman for Kansas City Power & Light Co., said employees for that utility also carry identification.
"All our employees carry picture IDs and they should be happy to produce them at request," he said, "If they don't then you can assume they are not who they say they are. " If a person refuses to produce identification, the resident should close the door and immediately call the police , Messer said.
Edition: METROPOLITAN
Section: METROPOLITAN
Page: C1
Record Number: 195265
Now, I realize that this is a stretch and I am nearly positive that these two cases aren't related, but I just wanted to think out loud for a minute. The people who were robbed in this case said that the assailants were very skilled and obviously knew what they were doing. This indicates that they had pulled this ruse off before. We have the white van. We have more than 1 armed perpetrator disguised as a utility worker and carrying fake credentials. There is difficulty in the fact that the criminals were very successful in this case, didn't kill anyone, got away with the money they wanted, ransacked the house, and targeted someone that they knew had money. Those things don't fit with our 3MW case. But, what if they were abducted in the early morning rather than during the night... say 7 or 8 a.m., around the same time this other incident happened. Maybe they were even there when Janelle called the first time. If they had entered the house at 8, they would have just had time to get everyone subdued, bound, and gagged when the phone started ringing. Maybe due to the phone ringing one of the girls said "I'm supposed to be somewhere, someone is going to come looking for me." Maybe that coupled with the dog barking panicked the attackers and they left the house, taking the women, without taking the money.
Believe me, I know this is a HUGE longshot and is probably nothing, but isn't it a bit coincidental that police originally thought a ruse had been used to enter the home and a white van was seen, and then this happens a year later and it is obvious that the perps have done it before? Maybe they learned how to be more careful. There are sooooo many things that this DOESN'T explain, but I just wanted to throw it out there for thought.