A local woman is recounting a terrifying incident that took place at her Morrisroe home last week.
Jayme Ford, her husband and two-year-old-son were all asleep in their home in the early morning of Jan. 7.
Ford had woken up with her son about 4 a.m. for about half an hour before going back to sleep.
Shortly after 6 a.m. she was woken up again to what she thought was her son playing with his toys.
“I nudged my husband and asked him to tell our son to go back to sleep because it was too early,” she said. “I rolled back over to check to see what time it was and noticed that it was 6:10 (a.m.). Then I heard footsteps – heavy footstep – boots, not the pitter patter of a two-year-old coming down the hallway.”
She added she initially thought one of their friends was in their home, but couldn’t understand why at such an early hour.
“The footsteps got louder and I hit my husband and said ‘Someone is in the house!’ Just then the intruder opened the door, not quietly but forcefully like he owned the place,” said Ford.
She said a young man about 6’ tall stood in their bedroom doorway. He was dressed in dark colours, was wearing a toque and had a hood pulled over his head.
“My husband shot up and said ‘Who are you?! What are you doing?!’ and chased him out of the bedroom.”
Once out in the kitchen, Ford said her husband saw a young woman as well.
“She was putting her shoes on in the garage and yelling ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry! I told him not to, I told him not to!’
They both got away and Ford said a neighbour told her he saw a young woman fleeing from their home into a white pick-up truck around the same time of the incident.
Ford added the pair allegedly broke into the home through the garage.
“What we assume happened was they came in through the back man-door into the garage and then into our house from there, straight into the kitchen where my laptop and cell phone were sitting on the island. The girl started wrangling up property – this was the noise I heard that I thought was my son playing with his toys – as she was doing this, he came down to check out the bedrooms. When she heard my husband screaming at the guy she bolted into the garage to put her shoes on. She didn’t manage to get any of our property, he however, had my husband’s vehicle keys – which was the only thing they managed to grab,” said Ford.
The RCMP responded within minutes of Ford calling them.
“I was really impressed. They had the canine unit here and I-dent (Forensic Science and Identification Services) here to do the finger printing. They were very diligent and did a great job.”
Ford said she has always felt safe living in Morrisroe.
“My husband bought this house in 2006 and I moved in in 2008 and we have never had an issue. This is a safe neighbourhood and I still think this neighbourhood is safe. It’s mostly older folks and families that live in this neighbourhood.”
Now that Ford has had time to think about what happened she said she’s questioning why the two culprits broke into their home.
“Why did he come into the bedroom? Why did they do that at this time in the morning? Why did she have her shoes off? The fact that he walked into our room like he owned the place.”
The following day, Ford drafted a letter to hand out to all of her neighbours in hopes that a crime like this will not happen again in the area.
RCMP Const. Daniel Sturgis was the member to respond to the incident. He said no arrests have been made and the police continue to search for the two suspects.
“(This incident) is quite unusual. Typically a thief breaks into a house and is scared out of their mind and it’s almost like a grab and run. Most happen during the day when the homeowners are not there,” he said.
The male suspect is described as 6’ tall with a slim build. The female is described as Caucasian, about 5’2”- 5’6” tall and thin. She is in her mid- to late teens with dark hair, and was wearing smaller set glasses and a hoodie or jacket with green on it. She was also wearing a backpack.
Anyone with information is asked to call Red Deer RCMP at 403-343-5575.
efawcett@reddeerexpress.com
