Captain Eugene Gutsch, with the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department, says there have been nearly a dozen home burglaries across the county in the past six weeks. He says three of them happened over the Labor Day weekend.

Captain Gutsch says the thieves are breaking into houses when the owners are gone. He says they’re watching the homes, to see when the owners leave for a long weekend or vacation.

"I guess you automatically feel less safe,” said Sheila Rooney, who lives in the Town of Tilden. “I don't know how you protect yourself from them if you're not home."

Rooney lives just down the road from a home outside of Tilden that was burglarized this weekend. She was out-of-town for Labor Day – and says when she heard the news, she couldn’t get home fast enough.

"My husband called and said, guess what,” she said. "Real panic to get here."

Captain Gutsch says it appears the recent burglaries are the work of the same person or persons. And he says they’re targeting the same items in each home.

"They are movable property, they are generally high-end items of value,” he said. "One location is well over $10,000 to $15,000 in items taken."

We talked to a woman whose home was burglarized in Chippewa County. She says she’s missing things like cash, power tools and all of her son’s DVDs.

Captain Gutsch says he hopes you can help the department crash this case. Until then, he wants you to watch your property – and your neighborhood.

"Pay attention to things such as traffic movement, suspicious vehicles that may be parked in the area,” he said.

Captain Gutsch says you can also put in motion lights, and ask a neighbor or friend to watch your house if you’re going out of town.

If you have any information that could help the Chippewa County Sheriff’s Department solve this string of burglaries, call (715) 726-7709.

Captain Gutsch says the department has three investigators working this case.