Pickering: police seek 3 suspects in distraction theft of heirloom necklace

Durham Regional Police are seeking the public's help to identify three suspects following a distraction theft in Pickering on Monday, October 12, 2026. Police say an elderly woman was walking her dog near Whites Road and Atwood Crescent at about 10:30 a.m. when a white Chevrolet SUV stopped nearby and two women approached her.

According to police, the suspects engaged the woman in conversation before one placed a necklace around her neck and removed the victim's own gold necklace, while the second grabbed her arm and tried to remove her bracelets. Nearby residents yelled at the suspects, who returned to the waiting SUV — driven by a third, male suspect — and fled northbound on Whites Road. The victim was not physically injured.

The stolen necklace is described as a long 22-karat gold chain with several pendants, including a cross with an elephant and a green stone pendant, and is a family heirloom. Police describe the two female suspects as each about 30 years old, 5-foot-2 with a heavy build, wearing a shawl or covering over the head and slippers; no description is available for the male driver.

Anyone with information, video footage or dash-camera footage from the area of Whites Road and Atwood Crescent around the time of the incident is asked to contact investigators at 905-579-1520 (toll-free 1-888-579-1520), ext. 1905. Anonymous tips can go to Durham Regional Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS. The suspects have not been identified or arrested; all are presumed innocent unless proven otherwise in court.