MISCELLANY/ NEWSMAKERS AND MILESTONES

Since January, a cat burglar has been looting homes on exclusive Lido Isle in Newport Beach.

But after 14 burglaries, all police know is that about a quarter-million dollars in jewelry has been taken and that the thief is probably a small man.

“He’s been pretty successful,” Detective Dan Holub said. “He’s not ransacking. He’s very neat.

“This guy is so neat, a lot of the victims don’t discover the crime until maybe the next day.”

The burglar always enters through unlocked second-story windows or sliding glass doors that can be reached easily from the ground. He enters when residents are downstairs eating dinner or watching television.

But he has avoided establishing a pattern, Holub said. “He doesn’t hit us often enough that we can successfully work a surveillance or stakeout.”

So far, none of the stolen jewelry has appeared in the usual places, Holub said.

“I’m a little surprised that the jewelry hasn’t been showing up in pawn shops,” Holub said. “But if he’s a sophisticated burglar, he may be selling it out of state or at a diamond exchange.”