Burglaries in Atherton may be linked to ridesharing services

ByLuz Pena KGO logo
Tuesday, February 5, 2019
Burglaries in Atherton may be linked to ridesharing services
In the tiny town of Atherton, investigators think they've found a link between a string of home burglaries and ridesharing services.

ATHERTON, Calif. (KGO) -- In the tiny town of Atherton, investigators think they've found a link between a string of home burglaries and ridesharing services.

Commander Joe Wade of the Atherton Police Department said, "They've been breaking in through the second floors. They are being resourceful and some even used patio furniture and other items to help them climb up and gain access."

RELATED: Burglar breaks into SoCal home of paralyzed man

Atherton police confirmed a string of burglaries, taking place between 6 pm and 9 pm. More than $1-million worth of property has been stolen property in the last year. Some residents hope putting signs outside their homes might help.

Janet Larson, an Atherton resident, said, "I was getting some signs that say that my home is alarmed. Because sometimes when they know your home has an alarm they won't come in."

There are over 2,500 homes in Atherton. Right now, the police department has keys to close to 2,000 homes. They say they are ready to go to any homes and check in case alarms go off.

According to Atherton Police, 63 percent of the homes burglarized did not have their alarm systems on. Commander Wade is also looking into a connection between residents requesting ridesharing services to SFO-- then being burglarized days later.

RELATED: Union City police arrest Uber driver accused of sexually assaulting ride share passenger

"There've been a couple instances where people were going out of town and did use ride services."

Uber officials confirmed they're willing to cooperate with police and sent us a statement saying, "Last September we announced 'address anonymization' where the exact pickup/drop-off location would not be seen by the driver after a trip."