New Bloomfield burglary victim offers $500 reward

NEW BLOOMFIELD - In the 12 years she has lived in her home on State Road J, Shirley Besche has been robbed three times.

The most recent burglary - which ocurred Jan. 6 - resulted in the loss of a new Bose stereo system, big screen television, a lock box containing personal photos and papers and approximately $2,000 worth of jewelry. This time, rather than hope law enforcement is able to recover her property before it gets sold or pawned off, Besche has decided to try to assist in the information gathering.

She is offering a $500 reward for any information that leads to an arrest in the case of the burglary at her home; those with information are encouraged to call the Callaway County Sheriff's Office at (573) 642-7291.

"If you'd been robbed three times, wouldn't you?" Besche said when asked why she decided to offer the reward. "I'd offer more, but I don't have any more. Those were the only things in my home worth anything."

At age 62, Besche said she is providing a home to a 16-year-old granddaughter and an 18-month-old great-grandson, putting in long hours with her own cleaning business to make ends meet.

"I work so hard for what little I have. That Bose stereo is the first time in 15 years I've bought something for myself," she said. "It came Wednesday - I hadn't even taken it out of the box - and I got the bill on Saturday," Besche said. "I don't understand it. It's not the stuff, because I can buy new stuff, it's the fact they keep doing it to me.

"If somebody wants something and they don't have the money, I'd give it to them; they don't have to steal from me," she continued. "That's what hurts the most. If somebody needs something, I do it. I don't understand why this keeps happening to me."

To help the tornado-stricken people of Dumas and surroundings, donations can be made to the Delta Area Disaster Relief Fund, care of the Delta Area Community Foundation, P.O. Box 894, Dumas, AR, 71639, or through the Arkansas Community Foundation, 700 S. Rock St., Little Rock, AR, 72202.