Durban - A crafty Essenwood woman is driving men wild with her night time antics.
Described as someone with the grace of a ballerina and the stealth of a cat, she emerges in the dead of the night, gracefully scaling walls and gliding along them like an experienced tightrope walker.
Home owners told the Independent on Saturday that the mysterious woman of the night seemed to have a penchant for garden furniture, hosepipes and other easy-to-carry garden tools, which have been disappearing with alarming regularity and without a trace.
Even clothes hanging on an outside washing line have disappeared.
Residents say the woman’s “business premises” appears to be the gardens and backyards of homes in Caldwell Road, Lily Road, Lawrence Road, as well as Napier and Problem Mkhize (Cowey) roads.
One Lily Road resident said he seemed to have borne the brunt of her “skills”. So far, she has allegedly tampered with his plumbing, stolen copper pipes, stolen brass hinges and handles from doors and broken an outside basin, also in search of copper.
At first, people in the area had no idea who it was, and the matter was not reported to the police because they didn’t have evidence. However, one perturbed resident wanted to nip it in the bud before the habit took root.
Outside cameras were monitored, and one night, they struck it lucky.
The woman, definitely no shrinking violet, was filmed while slinking along a boundary wall.
Wearing palazzo pants, a T-shirt and a doek on her head, she seemed relaxed and unconcerned about the possibility of anyone catching her.
Perhaps that was her downfall.
Frank Zvenyika said he instantly recognised her as the brazen woman who had entered his property without permission, this time during the day.
Without explaining her presence or beating about the bush she pretended to be looking for a job.
“I asked her, ‘why are you in my house?’ and chased her away.”
He said she was a young South African woman, estimated to be in her twenties, and at the time, she was wearing a long black dress with no visible scars or distinguishing characteristics.
“It’s an obvious case that it’s that woman because she once came when I was there. She came into the house, maybe she was thinking there was no one in the house, and she was shocked when she saw some people.”
Zvenyika said he hadn’t spotted her again but warned the cat burglar might still be on the prowl.
Regular patrols are being done by a security company, which she has managed to evade.
NB: Might add security company quote if if comes through.
The Independent on Saturday