HOUSTON – A 93-year-old great-grandmother was conned by someone pretending to help her. The thief stole several priceless mementos, including an heirloom that has a special connection to her late husband.
"It's a perfect likeness of the portrait," said the woman, who did not want to be identified. "And of me. That's what I looked like at one point in my life."
She had the cameo that resembled her as recently as last week.
"I just want it back. No questions asked. No questions asked. I just want the cameo back," she said.
She just had a brand new roof installed and says a man showed up to her southwest Houston home posing as a member of the roofing company she had trusted for years.
"He just kissed me on the cheek as if, 'hey I'm glad to see you again,'" she said.
The man told her he needed to clear out some debris on the roof. He was able to distract her and in the span of 10 minutes, he stole a silver chest with valuables including the cameo.
"I said, 'You know I didn't see your credentials.' He said, 'Oh they're over there,' pointing to my kitchen table. I looked at the kitchen table. There was nothing on it. At that point he was out of the house like a jackrabbit," she said.
Why does the cameo mean so much? Her late husband got it made for her in Italy, while deployed overseas in World War II. It's her most prized possession and this is her message to the man who took it.
"I would want him to know that he took part of my heart with him, that I want back," she said.
She said her husband actually traded 10 cartons of American cigarettes for the cameo.
The man who made it said he could sell the cigarettes on the black market for $500.
The man was by himself, but she described him as either caucasian or Hispanic man with a 'salt and pepper' beard and a medium build. She said he was just under 6 feet tall.
She described his vehicle as a newer model silver Ford pickup with no license plates.
The items he stole were a silver chest with her sterling silver along with mother's sterling silver and great grandmother's gold chain.
The cameo was in a separate spot in her closet.