Detectives Continue Probe of Ritz-Carlton Burglaries : Crime: Police are investigating a $276,000 loss that the hotel calls an ‘alleged theft,’ angering one of the victims.

DANA POINT — As sheriff’s investigators continued to seek clues Monday in the weekend theft of $276,000 in cash and jewelry from guests at the swank Ritz-Carlton hotel, one of the victims said the hotel management had all but accused them of concocting their loss.

“The hotel manager is describing the theft as a rumor, as if we have to prove that this happened to us, that it’s not a scam,” said Annette Fischer, whose family returned from a beach outing Saturday afternoon and reported they found their suitcases ripped open and two room safes emptied.

Ritz-Carlton manager John Dravinski said only that the hotel is cooperating in the Sheriff’s Department’s investigation.

“What we have is a report of an alleged theft,” Dravinski said.

He declined to elaborate or discuss theft reports made by another guest, Gene Matusousky, who said his room was also burglarized Saturday. Matusousky, who police said was from a country in Europe, checked out of the hotel Sunday, according to a hotel worker, and could not be reached for comment.

“The investigation is continuing, but we have no suspects as far as I know,” said Sheriff’s Lt. Bill Leonard.

On Sunday, Sheriff’s deputies said the thefts looked like “an inside job” and that whoever opened the safes apparently had a pass key and then tried to make it look as if the safes were broken into. There were no signs of forced entry into the rooms involved, deputies said.

Annette Fischer and her husband, Harold, a surgeon from Short Hills, N.J., checked into the hotel Aug. 29 with their son and daughter to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary at the seaside resort. They had been guests of the hotel twice before.

Annette Fischer said that as a result of the way the hotel is handling the incident she and her family were moving to the Bel Air Hotel on Monday evening.

“They just have made it very uncomfortable for us here,” Fischer said of the Ritz-Carlton. “Someone on the staff circulated a rumor that we once were given a free room because of some similar thing in the past, and I can assure you that nothing ever happened. It’s totally false.”