'He wanted to check the water.' Posing as Foxconn contractor, man steals from elderly couple.

Lucille Sauder believed it when a man came to her door saying he needed to check her water line late Thursday afternoon.

Sauder lives on County Line Road in Mount Pleasant, near the site for Taiwanese technology manufacturer Foxconn's new mega factory.

"It's just a mess around here in the area with Foxconn," Sauder said.

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Sauder had noticed water line work happening near her house.

"He wanted to check the water because they had hit a water line someplace," she said. She thought it may be a contractor with Foxconn. Sauder let the man into her house without asking for ID. She said he was dressed like he would be with a company.

She questioned why her water would be affected — the house uses its own well. But he insisted on running water to check the line.

The man was in the house for about 15 to 20 minutes, Sauder said. Her husband noticed a couple of other men enter the home, too.

Hours later as the couple prepared for bed, Sauder pulled back the sheets and something fell to the floor. It was a couple of drawers from her jewelry box. Her watch and up to $1,000 in cash were missing.

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Sauder thinks they were targeted. Sauder and her husband, Elmer, are both in their 80s. He uses a walker. She needs a cane. There's a ramp going up to their one-story home.

"It's very obvious that we're not in good shape," she said.

Sauder wants to be sure others aren't targeted in the same way. "Be sure to ask for ID," she said. "And stick right with them. I was in the kitchen and couldn't see anybody coming in the front door."

The Sauders will have to move soon — the couple's home is part of the eminent domain area for the new Foxconn factory. They've lived on County Line Road for nearly 48 years. The couple had made adjustments to stay in the one-story home such as adding the ramp to the front door and a walk-in shower.

"Moving. It's the last thing I wanted to do," Sauder said. "But Foxconn doesn't care."

Sarah Hauer can be reached at shauer@journalsentinel.com or on Twitter @SarahHauer and Instagram @HauerSarah.