81-Year-Old Uses Antique Walking Stick to Beat Thieves

NILES, Ill. (AP) — An 81-year-old former Marine from suburban Chicago says he was looking for “some type of persuasive weapon” when he used his grandfather's antique Irish walking stick to chase three burglars from his home.

Dan and Barbara Donovan were in the basement of their Niles home on Nov. 4 with a man who claimed he was a utility worker who needed to check their “fuse box."

But when Barbara Donovan heard floorboards squeaking above, she yelled to her husband that somebody was in their bedroom.

They ran upstairs and Dan Donovan grabbed his grandfather’s antique Irish walking stick and drove away the men, one of whom he hit with the heirloom.