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Couple victimized by diversionary scam
"He talked about sealing the driveway, and the driveway hadn't been sealed yet," Kemerer recalled Tuesday. "He wanted us to go out and look at the driveway."
So Kemerer, 82, and his wife went outside with the man shortly before 3 p.m.
While they were examining the driveway with the man, someone else slipped inside the couple's unlocked house and took an unspecified amount of money, authorities said.
State police at Greensburg were asking yesterday for the public's help in apprehending the man and an accomplice. Police believe the accomplice waited in the man's black pickup truck, then went inside the house while his partner distracted the couple outside.
"We were out 15, 20 minutes at most," Kemerer said. "That's all they took -- money."
He said what caught him off guard was that the man mentioned the name of a company he recognized. The man also seemed to know what he was talking about.
"He seemed to know about asphalt," Kemerer said.
He discovered the theft when he went back inside and noticed things were out of place.
Kemerer declined to say how much money was taken.
In hindsight, Kemerer said he and his wife shouldn't have gone outside with the man.
"I should have checked him out, asked for a card," Kemerer said.
The suspect is described as a white man, 35 to 45 years old, and between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 8 inches tall, with a stocky build.
Kemerer said the man appeared to have a tan.
Police are asking anyone who has experienced similar circumstances or has other information about this incident to contact them at 724-832-3288.
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