Police search missed suspects, cars

Police in Duluth, Minn., said a pair of female burglars were drinking wine just 100 yards from the house they robbed and officers failed to spot them.

Homeowner Robert Heller said he returned home from work Oct. 15 to find about $200 worth of wine, $2,000 of his wife's jewelry and less than $50 in coins missing from the home, the Duluth News Tribune reported Thursday.

However, neither Heller nor police who responded to the scene noticed the women's vehicle had become stuck in the mud in the home's rarely-used back entrance, about 100 yards from the house.

A second vehicle that had apparently come to rescue the two women also became stuck in the mud. Heller and police said they do not know when the second car arrived.

"We didn't see the cars in the distance because of the trees," investigator Don Boso said.

Neighbor Jill Frey said she was the first to spot the stuck cars the next morning and immediately phoned Heller, who called police for a second visit. Investigators said they believe the women were with the car when police performed their first search and the pair apparently drank five of the 11 bottles of wine taken from the home. The remaining bottles were found unopened.

Police said they arrested two women after tracking the ownership of the cars.