SUGAR LAND, Texas – The search is on to find the couple who posed as utility workers in order to get inside an elderly woman's home to rob her.
Police released a sketch of a female suspect who's accused of gaining a victim's trust so her male companion could steal from the home.
The victim said she was hesitant to open the door when a man rang her doorbell, but the woman with him put her at ease.
"I just don't know why I was foolish enough to open the door. I didn't to the man, but when I saw the petite young woman, I just foolishly opened my door," said the victim, Carolyn, who doesn't want to have her last name revealed, nor her address.
That petite young woman talked her way inside the house in Old Sugar Land. She told the homeowner there had been a water line break and she needed to check to see if the home's water had been contaminated.
Carolyn says for 20 minutes the woman stood with her in the kitchen with the water running. She said the woman was very engaging, listening intently as Carolyn told her all about her Project Smile outreach effort, created in her late son's memory.
"When I told her everything, she said, 'Ma'am, that touches me. I mean it, it touches me in the heart.' She was very good," she said.
But while the woman was in the kitchen, police believe the man made his way into the home, taking cash from the victim's safe, as well as jewelry.
They've released the sketch of the woman hoping someone will recognize her. Police are also warning the community to never let a stranger inside your home.
"City workers will be in uniforms. They wear identification and they're in city-identified vehicles," said Doug Adolph, with the Sugar Land Police Department.
Carolyn told Local 2, "Unfortunately, we don't live in a very trusting world anymore. Don't ever open the door to someone you don't know."
The male suspect had olive-colored skin, brown hair and brown eyes. The female suspect was petite and possibly white. She was wearing a head covering and sunglasses, aqua-colored clothing and blue gloves. Police say the couple was in a bright blue passenger vehicle.
Anyone with information should call the Sugar Land Police Department at 281-275-2540 or Fort Bend County Crime Stoppers at 281-342-TIPS (8477).