ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Friday, December 13, 1996              TAG: 9612130089
SECTION: VIRGINIA                 PAGE: B-5  EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON

2 MEN WHO POSED AS CITY WORKERS SOUGHT

Police are looking for two men they believe stole money from an elderly Salem couple while posing as city water department employees.

Salem police said an elderly couple answered their door and two men - who said they were from the water department - told the couple that they had been overcharged and would be receiving a refund.

But they said they had to check their water for rust first, police said.

The men asked the husband to watch the running water from the kitchen sink while the wife watched the water from the bathroom.

The men disappeared during that time and returned saying the water checked out fine, police said.

The couple later discovered that an undisclosed amount of cash was missing from a spare bedroom.

Police are investigating a similar incident in Pulaski County.

The suspects are described as a white male and a Hispanic male traveling in a tan van. Anyone with information should call Salem police at 375-3078.

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