Police Report Recounts Elderly Kidnapping and Robbery Victim's Ordeal

New details have emerged about of an 81-year-old woman from the Jewel parking lot at 9424 S. Pulaski.

The Chicago woman waited a day before reporting the late afternoon robbery on Oct. 26 because she was scared and didn’t want to drive at night, police said.

Her abductors, described as a middle-aged black male and black female, remain at large. Believing the man to have a gun, the elderly woman drove to a nearby bank where she was forced to withdraw $9,000.

According to an Oak Lawn police report, the woman was loading groceries into her car in the Jewel parking lot around 4 p.m. While doing so, she was confronted by the couple. Both began talking to the woman about returning some found money and sharing the reward with her.

She did not wish to get involved and got into her car. The man and the woman climbed in after her uninvited. The woman told police that they began asking her where she did her banking, after discovering one of her bank statements lodged in the front seat of her car.

The man asked her how much money she had in her account after reading the statement. Police said the man was sitting in the back seat of the elderly woman’s car when he placed the brown paper bag against her head.

While she never actually saw a weapon, she told police that whatever was inside the bag felt like a gun.

The man ordered her to drive across the street to Standard Bank at 4001 W. 95th St. While pulling into the bank’s parking lot, the female accomplice got out of the car and waited outside. Police said the man was still inside the car when the elderly woman parked in the bank’s lot.

The man instructed her to go inside and withdraw $18,000 and to tell bank employees it was for a personal matter, before laying down in the back seat. According to the report, the woman did as she was told because she feared for her life and believed the man to be armed. She walked into the bank alone while the man remained behind hiding in her car.

A bank manager helped the woman fill out the necessary paperwork, then led her to a teller who issued her $9,000 in cash and another $9,000 in a cashier’s check.

Without telling anybody at the bank, the woman left and went back to her car where the man was still waiting. His accomplice also got back into the car and the woman was ordered to drive to another Standard Bank in Evergreen Park at 95th Street and Western Avenue.

Once again, the female accomplice got out of the car. The elderly woman parked in the lot and the man remained in the car.

Police said the elderly woman went into the bank where she attempted to cash the cashier’s check but was turned away.

Explaining to the couple that the cashier’s check was denied because she had made it out to herself, the couple started yelling at her, saying she should have left it blank, the report said.

They ordered her to drive back Jewel. While sitting in traffic at 95th Street and Pulaski, the female got out of the car and left in an unknown direction. The woman continued driving with the man still in car and parked in the Jewel lot.

Police said the man got of out the elderly woman’s car and ran back into Jewel. After losing sight of him, the elderly woman flagged down a Jewel employee. She believed the employee to be a security guard and told him what happened. He advised her to file a police report.

According the report, the elderly woman arrived back at Jewel around 6 p.m. It was getting dark and she felt uncomfortable driving, so she went home where she could pull herself together.

The next morning the woman walked into the Oak Lawn police station and filed a report.

She described the man as a middle-aged black of short build, wearing glasses and a suit.

The female was middle-aged with a dark complexion, police said. The elderly woman believes both were inside the Jewel when she was shopping and waited to confront her outside.

According to the report, the woman said she left the cashier’s check at home, as well as her bank statement and the withdrawal slip. The woman told police that the cash was issued to her in hundred and fifty dollar bills.

Police recovered security video of the man but the report did not indicate where the video was taken.

Anyone recognizing the photos of the man captured on video should call  Detectives Hudziak or Brice at 708-499-7822 or 708-499-7798. Information can also be left at the OLPD 24-hour desk at 708-422-8292.