WATERLOO

Thieves out to steal tools from the home of a Waterloo roofer Tuesday night weren't going to get away without a fight. Certainly not when Nancy Fischer was their victim.

The 52-year-old Waterloo woman, who runs Fischer Roofing & Waterproofing Systems Inc. with her husband, said she was about to get into her black Hummer to go to the store when she spotted two men in her driveway.

It was dark, around 10:30 p.m., and at first Fischer thought the men might be friends of her kids.

When she saw some of her tools, including a gas generator, in the back of their open trunk, she yelled at them to put it back and "quit screwing around."

She walked closer to see what they were doing.

That's when one of the men came over and pushed her down. Her purse fell beside her and she quickly reached for it as she struggled to get back up. Another man came over and pushed her down again.

He dumped out the contents of her purse and took hundreds of dollars from her wallet. The money was to be spent on tools and materials for her business, she said.

The thieves then ran to their car and took off.

So did Fischer.

"I saw red," Fischer said. "I thought, 'screw it.' These guys are going to get away with it."

She chased the men down Woolwich Street, out of Waterloo and onto King Street in Kitchener.

"I tried to get their licence plate, but I couldn't get close enough," she said.

She lost sight of the thieves at King Street East and Montgomery Road.

"You can't leave anything on your property," she said. "Everybody works hard for their money so why should they get ripped off."

She acknowledges that her and her husband have a lot of stuff lying around their yard and said thieves have stolen from them before.

"I was sick and tired of being ripped off."

She didn't know the men but said one called the other J.D. If she ever saw them again though, Fischer said she would surely recognize them.

"When someone gets in your face and pushes you down like that, you remember."

Asked if she had a message for the thieves who got away with her tools, Fischer said "I"m looking for them."

Waterloo Regional Police spokesperson Olaf Heinzel said while it may appear what Fischer did was courageous, police would rather they be contacted when a crime is occurring.

"You should think twice about confronting them," Heinzel said. "You don't know if they are armed with weapons."

The first suspect is described as a white bald man, about five feet, 10 inches tall, 50 to 55 years old with a medium build.

The second suspect is described as a tall white man who had dark hair pulled back into a ponytail.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 519-650-8500 ext. 3399 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

cgreeno@therecord.com