RESERVE TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Police said Elwood Bartrug, wanted for a series of Millvale robberies, would ring the doorbell of homes in Reserve Township. If someone answered, he’d ask for directions. If nobody came to the door, police said that’s when he’d break in.
Millvale Police told Channel 11 Bartrug is a suspect in a number of robberies there and when they tracked him to a home, he took off running and jumped out of a third story window to get away.
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“It was costume jewelry. It looked like diamonds. I think that’s why he took the six rings and left because he thought he scored and he didn’t,” she said.
One woman in Reserve Township said she and her boyfriend were at the mall when it appeared Bartrug struck their home and took several items.
She said it looked like he broke into her shed, got a crowbar and then smashed their glass door. When he was done, she said they found that crowbar in a bizarre spot: under the blankets on their bed.
“When we went to bed, my boyfriend pulled the blanket down and there was the crowbar in the bed,” she said. “It’s not even the items. It’s just the fact that someone was in my house, on this street, in the middle of the day; it’s bizarre.”
Police said Bartrug broke into at least six other homes in Reserve Township last week.
People living in the area said they feel on edge.
“It makes me sick to my stomach quite honestly,” Jennifer Schwartz said.
Police are still searching for Bartrug. If you have any information, you’re urged to call 911.
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