BEVERLY — The 911 call described a gun-wielding intruder who assaulted the home’s caretaker and searched the sprawling mansion for family valuables before fleeing in a stolen Porsche.
Who did it remains a mystery, unfolding in a particularly affluent corner of this picturesque seaside community, known as Prides Crossing.
The setting is a $20 million waterfront mansion known as “Rock Edge,” a historic North Shore property perched atop a bluff overlooking the ocean. Built in the stately Georgian revival style, it has a storied past, steeped in the sort of glamor and opulence memorialized in “The Great Gatsby.”
Early Saturday morning, the masked intruder broke into the house, assaulted and tied up its sole occupant, stole several items, and fled in a stolen Porsche, according to police and the homeowner.
The culprit remains at large, though police have recovered the Porsche, as unanswered questions swirl about the brazen heist and its mysterious aftermath.
In the neighborhood Monday, wrought-iron gates blocked access to the sprawling estate, the only obvious sign anything was amiss as whitecaps sparkled in the distance and a landscaping crew worked nearby.
The victim was a caretaker of the property and a family friend, said Thomas J. Swan III, who owns the house.
“She was forced to move through the house at gunpoint, and at times was dragged by her hair down staircases,” Swan told the Globe in a phone interview Monday. The woman was pistol-whipped and ultimately tied up in the garage by someone wearing a balaclava mask, he said.
Eventually, she unbound herself, escaped the garage, and ran to a neighbor’s house, Swan said. Police records show they called 911 around 8:50 a.m. and reported the break-in had occurred about three hours earlier.
“She was in total shock,” said Swan, a business lawyer and investment banker who co-runs The Swan Group. “It was extremely traumatic.”
Given how the robbery transpired, he said, “It was probably someone familiar with the house.”
Swan said the items stolen were extremely valuable but declined to specify what was taken. He said he was limited in what he could say due to the ongoing investigation.
Beverly police said they had recovered the stolen vehicle. They said the victim was transported to Beverly Hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries and later released. Officials declined to release additional details, including an initial police report.
Neighbors were shocked by the crime, a total rarity in their affluent neck of the woods.
“It’s just the most beautiful neighborhood,” said Janet Riley, who lives across the street from Rock Edge, with a clear view of the adjacent property from her elevated backyard.
Indeed, the private drive is lined with historic homes, impeccable landscaping, and unobstructed ocean views. It’s hard to imagine crime in a place like that, with its regular soundtrack of distant waves and sea breezes — maybe the occasional screech of a seagull.
Neighbors said many residents spend the winters elsewhere in second or third homes. But they said staff — cleaners, landscapers, personal chefs, builders — are often coming and going year-round.
Riley, who moved there in 2018 from Chatham, said she looked out her windows Saturday morning and saw police cars swarming the estate. She searched the internet to find out what happened.
“I said, ‘Oh boy, I hope everybody’s OK,’” she told the Globe in an interview Monday afternoon. She said the property’s front gates, which were usually left open, have been closed ever since.
The Rock Edge mansion was commissioned in the early 1900s by a woman named Marian Sargent, a descendant of Thomas Jefferson whose husband, Lucius Manlius Sargent IV, died in a hunting accident in 1895, according to historical records. An accomplished horseman, Lucius Sargent practiced law before becoming treasurer of the Lawrence Manufacturing Company, a major 19th-century textile producer in Lowell.
Marian Sargent used the three-story, 17-room house as a retreat from her winter residence in Boston, records show.
After her death in 1924, it sat vacant and unused for over a decade. Then the deed was passed to her niece, Eleonora Sears, who was considered a pioneer in women’s sports — shattering gender norms and accumulating 240 trophies in her lifetime as a four-time tennis champion, the first women’s squash champion, and an accomplished horsewoman, according to the New England Historical Society. She played 19 sports in all, including rifle shooting, boxing, football, and ice skating.
She was also a prominent socialite who often hosted other well-connected guests at her home, including Judy Garland and Harold S. Vanderbilt, the railroad executive and accomplished sailor, according to historical materials.
Vanderbilt was one of her romantic interests, according to the Massachusetts Historical Commission. Another admirer was the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII of England, who abdicated the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. During an earlier visit to the United States in 1924, he once spent eight hours on the dance floor with Sears, commission records say.
When Sears died at age 87, Victor Jones wrote for The Boston Globe that she was “probably the most versatile performer that sports has ever produced — not just the most versatile female performer, but the most versatile, period.”
The Benevento family purchased the property in 1970. In the years since, the 11-bedroom, 12-bathroom grand estate underwent an extensive renovation, retaining original characteristics such as exterior Tuscan columns and 16-foot ceilings with restored crown molding. The mansion has a brick facade with limestone embellishments and a slate roof.
The house was sold in 2023 for $18.2 million, one of the highest recorded residential sales in the area, according to George Sarkis of Douglas Elliman, the realtor who handled the sale.
According to the listing at the time, the living room opens onto a veranda that faces the ocean. The kitchen spans 1,500 square feet and features two islands and a separate butler’s pantry. There’s also a formal dining room, music room, game room, and study. In total, there are 14 wood-burning fireplaces. Only five families have access to the beach in front of Rock Edge. A cabana original to the property was restored and includes multiple dressing rooms and facilities.
Behind the gates Monday afternoon, a pair of decorative swans were visible on the palatial front steps. An American flag was waving in the breeze, and sunlight sparkled off the water.
Beverly police said they’re working with Massachusetts State Police investigators.
Swan, the homeowner, said the violent assault on a friend of his family and the value of the items stolen “makes this a very serious crime.”
He asked people to contact police if they were in the area between 2 and 7 a.m. Saturday, and have information that could help investigators solve the case.
John R. Ellement, Sean Cotter, and Jeremiah Manion of the Globe staff contributed to this report.
Emily Sweeney can be reached at emily.sweeney@globe.com. Follow her @emilysweeney and on Instagram @emilysweeney22. Lea Skene can be reached at lea.skene@globe.com. Follow her on X @lea_skene.