‘Water department employee’ burglarizes home

Police are seeking a man who reportedly posed as a water department employee and robbed a homeowner in San Mateo County on Friday, sheriff’s officials said.

Sheriff’s officials said around 2:35 p.m., a man knocked on the front door of a home in the 500 block of Eight Street in Montara, an unincorporated area of San Mateo County.

The suspect identified himself as working for the water department and asked the homeowner to go to the backyard and turn on a garden hose, sheriff’s officials said.

The homeowner complied and turned on the garden hose for approximately 10 minutes while the man watched, according to the sheriff’s office.

The man left the residence in a white van or pick-up truck and drove away in an unknown direction, sheriff’s officials said.

The homeowner went upstairs to her room and noticed her closet had been ransacked and sheriff’s officials said she is missing a pair of diamond cuff links.

Sheriff’s officials described the suspect as approximately 40 years old.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is encouraged to call the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Office at (650) 259-2300 or leave an anonymous tip at (800) 547-2700.