Authorities are searching for three suspects in a weekend home invasion and beating of an elderly woman.
The crime occurred around 8:40 p.m. in the Summer Place development near High Rock Lake, a Rowan County Sheriff’s Office report said.
A 66-year-old woman told Sheriff’s Office investigators that three males, possibly teenagers, barged into a home she was preparing to rent through an unlocked front door.
Hiding their faces behind bandannas, the men demanded money and one of them brandished a handgun, according to the report.
When the woman told them she had no money, the man with the handgun began hitting her in the face with his fists. The other two, meanwhile, began searching the home.
After searching for about five minutes and finding nothing, the men ran out the front door, the woman told investigators. She said the men were all around 6 feet tall and the one who carried the handgun wore blue jeans, but she could provide no better description.
When Sheriff’s Office deputy arrived, the woman was still inside the house, where she had locked herself in a bathroom. She had facial injuries and blood on her face and clothes. Law enforcement officers summoned Rowan EMS to treat her.
Investigators attempted to track the men with a dog, but heavy rains that left the ground soggy prevented it, Capt. John Sifford of the Sheriff’s Office said. They did collect some evidence from the scene and the investigation continues.
The victim is not being identified because the suspects remain at large.
The Sheriff’s Office asks anyone with information about the crime to contact Investigator Teresa Haupt or Lt. Chad Moose at 704-216-8700 or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-639-5245.