Lyda Holt with her son and daughter-in-law

When 89-year-old Lyda Holt saw a car pull into her driveway on Montpelier Road Monday, she thought the driver was someone she knew.

When she opened the front door, however, she discovered the man was a stranger. He made his way through the door, pulled out a measuring tape and said he needed to do some measuring.

A couple of hours later, Ms. Holt’s family learned that her phone line had been cut and she had been robbed.
Ms. Holt said the man walked to a window and held up one end of the measuring tape and told her to walk directly forward into the bathroom and hold the other end of the tape. She did as she was told.

She stood there for a short time, and then he took the measuring tape and exited through the back door.

Sometime during the whole event, money that was in her purse in another room was removed. It appears that a second person was involved, because Ms. Holt said she could see the one man the entire time he was in the house.

It wasn’t until later that day that the robbery was discovered. Members of Ms. Holt’s family tried to call her but could not get through. A couple of them dropped by to check on her, realized Ms. Holt’s phone was not working and called the telephone company.

When the repairman arrived, he quickly realized that the phone line had been cut.

At that point, the family began a search and discovered that Ms. Holt had been robbed. Money she had in her purse to go to the grocery and hairdresser was missing.

In addition, birthday cards she just received to celebrate her 89th birthday and the money they enclosed were gone.
Ms. Holt said the man told her he would return in around an hour. The incident occurred mid-morning and she did not eat lunch, instead waiting for him to return. It was only after her family came to check on her did she eat a late meal.