Lurking in the Dark

A Home Invader Tries Every House in the Cul-de-sac

I live in a small culdesac in the middle of no where. The next nearest neighborhood is over 4 miles away. One night a few years ago we got over a foot and a half of snow overnight. So far from main roads and on the weekend I knew our roads will be remain unplowed for quite some time. I went to my out back deck door to look at the snow Draped trees and the still heavily falling flurries and take some pictures when I noticed foot prints leading to my door then turning around and leaving.

I looked and saw that they came from my neighbor's side and thought that one of their more delinquent kids played a joke as my sledding tube on the railing was popped. I decided I'd wait till later as it was early to call their parents. I went on facebook and after scrolling for a bit I noticed one of my neighbors closer to the entrance posted "did someone knock for me or something at my back door?"

I immediately called her, talked, and told her I have an idea. I called the first house on the entrance and told him what was going on. He went and checked and sure enough, they were there too. Everyone started calling everyone else. I called the family at the far end and they told me there was none there. Then I got a call from my next door neighbor. She called the women that lives next to the end house. She said that there were footprints that led to her door. But none led away.

We already called the police by this point but now we called them back and said that it's an emergency now. They told us the roads are still all unplowed and they can't send a plow truck to clear the way as they are a privately owned company. The woman was losing it so one of the husbands (huge bear of a man) across the road from her texted her to say he was coming over to "invite her over". He came and she left. We put up one guy's live feed motion recording hunting cameras facing all exits. Nothing came out. Around 7 pm a plow truck came as well as 3 cop cars. The couple she was staying with and her went to her house and stood in the doorway as the police searched. They found nothing. She begged them to keep looking so they did.

Two of the cops went into the basement again. This time only one came up. He took her to the side room and we could hear hysterical crying (by now we are all out there). Me and a few of the other guys started towards the door when several police confronted us. They told us they found someone hiding under a cover opening in the stairwell that she didn't even know existed. A few minutes later a scruffy man screaming and kicking came out in cuffs and was led away.

In his little camp out they found blankets she just cleaned and put away. In the room next to hers... She stayed in other people's houses for a long time before going back. Even then she wouldn't stay alone. She sold the house the next summer.

He turned out to be a thrill-seeking junkie who was on probation for assault against a family member. The cops told us that they feel like he didn't want to stay at his apartment after a fight with his roommate and drove off in his roommate's car from the county over and got stuck in our unplowed roads.

And that is why you always make sure you locked your doors