A resourceful family caught a burglar in their home from across the country with the help of a Web camera.
The father of the Bothell family suspected that someone had been in the home while he and his family were away on other trips.
He installed a Web camera to keep an eye on his home in the 17200 block of Seventh Avenue W.
Last week, while in Washington, D.C, the hunch paid off. The man’s son looked at the Web cam and spotted an 18-year-old neighbor near the upstairs computer.
The teenager had been hired to look after the homeowner’s cats, but was not given a key and was told to stay out of the house, according to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office.
The homeowner called police, who ordered the man out of the house through the intercom system by pressing the button and telling the suspect, “Come out with your hands up.”
When there was no response, deputies searched the house and found the suspect lying in the shower. He told police he knew the family was out of town so he crawled in through a window and stayed overnight.
“The (suspect) did have a falling out with his parents and was looking for a place to stay,” sheriff’s spokeswoman Jan Jorgensen said. “They told him specifically he was not allowed in the house.”
The home had been ransacked, according to police. The suspect’s belongings, along with food wrappers, were scattered around the house.
Video footage also showed him downloading pornography on the computer, according to police.
The man was arrested on investigation of burglary and booked into the Snohomish County Jail.
Jorgensen did not know if he had been charged.
“I’ve never heard of anything like this,” she said. “I think it’s really cool they set this thing up when they had concerns.”
Diana Hefley is a reporter with The Herald in Everett.
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