A family in Barrington is hoping a $5,000 reward will help in the recovery of jewelry stolen from their home in early December.

Family members asked that their names and home address not be used, as they fear that it could present them as a target for future break-ins, despite the house having security cameras and motion sensors. In fact, that system was functioning properly on Saturday, Dec. 4, when two people entered the home and stole dozens of pieces of jewelry and cash. 

According to one family member, a neighbor’s rear security cameras recorded footage of two people walking around the back of their home at 6:02 p.m. The individuals unplugged the home’s exterior Christmas lights, and then they entered through an unlocked door at the back of the home.

They went quickly to a bedroom, careful not to disturb anything else inside the house, and stole the jewelry and some cash that had been kept in a drawer. 

The homeowner said the family had been out for dinner that evening and returned late, just before midnight. No one suspected anything was wrong, he said.

“Nothing had moved in the house,” he said. 

The next morning, when his wife opened the drawer where the jewelry and cash had been kept, she discovered it was missing. The items were valuable, both in actual dollar amount and in sentiment. Much of it, the homeowner said, was family jewelry — items that had been in the family for generations. 

The family called Barrington Police and detectives quickly went to work trying to track down the missing pieces. They began monitoring pawn shops throughout the area. The family also pitched in with the recovery effort. The homeowner contacted 38 pawn shops and visited about a half-dozen more. He shared pictures of the missing jewelry, hoping that someone would have spotted something. 

So far, nothing has surfaced.

“It has been very difficult,” said the homeowner. “We’ve been here for more than 20 years.

“My wife is really disturbed. It was her jewelry and our daughter’s jewelry and all of it is gone.”

The family has lived in town, in the same Hampden Meadows neighborhood, for more than two decades. And through all that time, nothing like this has ever happened. Through time, the family’s sense of security — “complacency,” the homeowner called it — has grown. He said he wished his family had been more vigilant about things, and he hopes their unfortunate experience can serve as a warning to other Barrington residents.

“You get complacent because nothing’s happened,” he said. “I think we had too many people going in and out of the home — (People should) be careful and not get complacent.”

The security cameras show images of two people who knew what they were doing, said the homeowner. He called their approach “surgical” with precise moves, no wasted time, and minimal exposure. He believes that there likely was a connection to someone who had been in the home recently. There was no forced entry, no items tossed, not a single chair out of place. 

The homeowner said the police department has been doing a good job with the investigation, but he hopes the reward will aid in their effort. 

Reward details

The family is offering a $5,000 reward (or 5 percent for partial recovery) for “information leading to the successful recovery or return of all or substantially all of the jewelry and other valuables…” stated a flyer created by the family. “The jewelry is unique — consisting of heirloom and bridal jewelry primarily of ethnic Indian design.”

Anyone with information is asked to call Barrington Police at 401-437-3930 and refer to police case number 21-1482-OF.