SANDY, Utah -- Break in after break in. From Sandy to Salt Lake City, homes across the valley are targeted by burglars in the middle of the day.
Now, residents are turning to a virtual neighborhood watch and using their eyes, ears and social media.
“I was home, it was about 2:45 in the afternoon, and my baby had just gone down for a nap,” said Heather, a homeowner in Sandy.
That’s when she heard three loud bangs outside her home.
“I thought it was the wind or my daughter coming home from school, so I ran to the door, and I thought she went to the garage, so I screamed her name and it wasn't her so I thought it was the wind,” Heather said.
Minutes later, Heather's daughter came rushing into the home. Their side door had been broken apart.
“It is crazy they would do this in the middle of the day,” Heather said.
Heather says she must have scared them away by opening the door, but the home invader struck another home just down the street.
“I parked in the garage, came through the mudroom and just saw our door all the way opened, just destroyed,” said Christina, a homeowner in Sandy.
Someone had tried to break into their home.
“I think it's possible I could have gotten home and scared them away” Jason, Christina’s son, said.
The two families went online to notify neighbors, putting residents on high alert.
“I think it's a great program, everyone is on high alert," Christina said. "If someone came in this neighborhood now, there's no way they would be free. They would be caught because everyone is on edge and doing all that they can."
These break-ins have been happening from Sandy to Salt lake City.
“It makes you very angry and depressed,” said Bridget Cassun, a homeowner in Salt Lake.
Someone broke into Bridget Cassun's home not once, but twice. After stealing thousands of dollars’ worth of her belongings, they came back a third time in the middle of the day. But this time, she was home.
“I walk out and just see this man and woman standing in my front room,” Cassun said.
Bridget says the two claimed to be federal agents. When she confronted them for identification, they ran away. Bridget got a photo of the suspect and took it to police and social media.
“I want them to be off the street, or at least know they are being watched,” Cassun said.
Police say the incidences in Sandy and Salt Lake are not related, but the response from the victims has been similar in their use of social media. You can find out more about the website by clicking here.
