The couple, Mary and Charles Pope of the 600 block of 18th Street, went east during the holidays. When they returned Tuesday, they found lights on in the house, water on floors and ice in a toilet bowl near the point of the break-in.
The cold air caused a pipe to the ice maker in the refrigerator to burst, and water poured out onto the floor and drained into the basement.
The 117-year-old hardwood floors in the kitchen stood up to the water, but floors installed in a breakfast nook and nearby den a decade ago were damaged.
"That's the irony," Mary Pope said.
Police said the break-in occurred between Dec. 28 and Jan. 4.
The Popes said they walked in the front door and found a lot of water on the kitchen floor. They walked to a back door and discovered a brick had been thrown through the glass in the door.
Drawers and cabinets were open. Among the missing items on a police report are a 42-inch flat screen television, two jewelry boxes and their contents, and sterling silverware.
Investigators have no suspects.
"The good thing about something like this happening to people our age is that in a couple of weeks we will have forgotten all about it," Charles Pope said.
On a more serious note, he said the couple feels violated, knowing a stranger or strangers were ransacking their home while they were away. They say they are not eager to see their heating and water bills.
The couple alerted other residents in the neighborhood via e-mail of the break-in.
Sherman Hill is a good, safe, neighborhood, said Mary Pope. Members of the association intend to keep it that way and mass notifications to neighbors to keep a watchful eye are part of the process, she said.
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