There’s an alarming new home invasion trend in West Michigan

There’s no worse feeling than someone breaking into your home, but what’s even worse is that they’re doing it while you’re home and sleeping. This is exactly what happened to my family over the weekend.

On Sunday, October 20, at approximately 3 a.m., someone (or people) opened an unlocked window at the front of our home overlooking the street, crawled into our home, stole over $1,200 worth of electronics, and served then hung my car keys on the door and stole my car on the way out.

⬇️ Is it illegal? Answering frequently asked questions about Michigan law ⬇️

My door was locked. I have a big dog and was at home. And yet they walked away with most of my superficial valuables within a few minutes and in complete silence. As soon as I woke up and saw my front door wide open and my car missing, my world turned upside down.

We spent the rest of the day trying to figure out what happened and trying to find discarded items they had thrown from our vehicle around the neighborhood. While our neighbors tried to help us, we finally gave up when we realized everything was gone for good – even the car.

However, thanks to other people’s camera footage and their willingness to help, we have some great leads. We’ll be fine – but others to whom this happens may not be so lucky. We are a young family with a good support system, something many others may not be able to say.

But as we spoke with our neighbors and others in West Michigan, we realized that these intruders had been doing this to others for several months and that was why they were able to move so quickly and silently while we were in our own home. This wasn’t the first time they’d done this, and unfortunately it might not be the last either.

And while many speculated that it could be someone we knew or that we slept too long, I can’t express it enough: They broke in while we were sleeping, we didn’t even know they were there…the Dog knew I don’t even bark! (And she barks at doors that close three doors down.) That’s why it’s so scary – they’ve come so close to us, silently, in our own home.

We’ve filed a police report, all that stuff is replaceable, and we’ve found our escaped pets – but nothing makes me feel safe after someone has invaded us in such a personal and vulnerable way. So I just want to warn others: Even in your sleepy, quiet neighborhood, these people can find a sneaky way to get to your stuff. It’s more important now than ever that you secure every access point to your home (Even the insignificant ones facing public streets are bold.)