A Miami family is terrified after a 13-year-old girl woke up to find a man dressed in all black and wearing a ski mask standing in her bedroom.
The girl’s father told CBS News Miami off camera that his daughter was very scared when she saw the intruder in her room. He said so far, no one has been arrested.
Police say suspect entered through bedroom window
According to Miami police, the break-in happened around 4 a.m. Tuesday at a home on Northwest 10th Avenue and 48th Street.
When officers arrived, the suspect had already left.
Investigators said the man entered the girl’s room through her bedroom window and stole her wallet and cell phone.
Officers later found the wallet near the home. The girl’s mother told investigators the phone was pinging a block away through the “Find My iPhone” app.
Mother tracks down man holding stolen phone
The girl’s father said his wife went to the location where the phone was pinging and saw a young man holding their daughter’s phone.
When she confronted him, he said the phone belonged to his girlfriend — not their daughter. The mother immediately called police again.
When officers arrived, they found the phone inside a garbage bin.
Neighbors express shock over break-in
Sharon Weiss, a local landlord who owns several properties near Northwest 10th Avenue and 48th Street, said she was stunned to learn what happened just a block away.
“It’s absolutely horrifying,” Weiss said. “I’ve been a property owner in this neighborhood for over 20 years. I have never felt like I needed to warn a tenant or potential tenant about home invasion.”
Weiss said the incident does not reflect the character of the community.
“This is not a dangerous neighborhood, you know, where people are randomly attacked or have violent crime done to them,” she said.
Police collect evidence, search for suspect
“We collect that evidence and we are fingerprinting everything to try to gather as much evidence,” said Officer Mike Vega of the City of Miami Police Department.
“We detained a subject, that supposedly the mom caught on cell phone in possession of the phone, but we can’t prove that this is the person that came in.”
Investigation continues through DNA and fingerprints
Officer Vega said the case will move forward through forensic evidence, including fingerprints and possible DNA left behind by the burglar.
