Woman wakes up to intruder in her bedroom

CLEARWATER (FOX 13) - A woman woke up to her dog barking and saw a man standing in her bedroom. 

The frightening home invasion and burglary happened early Saturday morning in Clearwater.

It was just after 4 a.m. when the woman's Ring doorbell camera - triggered by a motion sensor -started recording the chilling video of a man dressed in black, putting on gloves, and trying to open the front door of a home near McMullen Booth Road and Drew Street.

The homeowner was too shaken up to talk on-camera, but hopes sharing her story will help catch the intruder.

“I feel very fortunate, I just don’t want any other person to go through this,” the east Clearwater homeowner said.

She says when the man discovered the door was locked, he noticed the front window was cracked.

“And you can see where he cut it perfectly,” she said, pointing to the place where he sliced the screen and climbed inside, knocking over the Christmas tree. 

Then started rummaging around.

It was 13-year-old Charlie the dog who sounded the alarm as the man began rummaging around her home. 

Charlie barked and growled aggressively, alerting his human to the danger.

“Wakes me up and I look up and there’s a silhouette of a man in my bedroom, telling me to put a pillow over my head,” she said. “And I just sat up in bed and started screaming as loud as I possibly could.”

She says the intruder snatched a jewelry box before he bolted out the front door. Hands shaking, she grabbed her phone to call 911.

“We had a number of officers, K-9, and other personnel flood the area immediately after looking for him and we also spoke to multiple neighbors,” said Clearwater Police Spokesperson, Rob Shaw.

Police are still searching for the crook and hope someone will recognize him from the doorbell video. 

Buying her Ring doorbell is a purchase she is thankful she made, but not as much as adopting her 22-pound furball four years ago.

“If it wasn’t for Charlie barking and waking me up, I don’t know what would have happened,” she said. “I rescued him, he saved my life.”

Investigators describe the man as being in his mid to late 40s, between 5'10" and 6' tall, and weighing around 200 pounds.  

If you recognize him, call Clearwater Police at 727-562-4242 or email tips@myclearwater.com.