Police Investigating Early Morning Burglary of Occupied Home
Published on November 29, 2021
Palo Alto, CA – Police are investigating a burglary of an occupied home that occurred early on Saturday morning. The unknown suspects, who likely did not realize the home was occupied until they were inside, are at large.
On Saturday, November 27, 2021, at about 6:15 a.m., our 24-hour dispatch received a call reporting a residential burglary that had likely occurred more than an hour earlier in the 00 block of Crescent Drive.
The victim, a woman in her seventies, reported that she had been home and inside an upstairs study at about 5 a.m. Her husband was also home, as were other family members. She heard a loud noise, and believed it was possibly the heater turning on. She soon heard footsteps in the second-floor hallway and assumed it was family.
At about 6 a.m., her husband went downstairs and found that the glass to one of the home’s locked rear doors had been completely shattered. They then notified the police.
The investigation revealed that the unknown suspects had cut through the screen door and then broken through the glass door to enter the home. Police found two sets of footprints in the upstairs hallway. The victim reported that nothing had been stolen or disturbed inside the home, and police believe is likely that once the suspects realized the home was occupied, they fled. As the suspects were never seen, there is no description available.
Residential burglaries of occupied homes are extremely rare in Palo Alto. Most residential burglars commit their crimes during the day, when homes are more likely to be unoccupied and the chance of a confrontation with a resident are correspondingly reduced. If you have a side yard gate, police recommend putting a lock on it to prevent easy unauthorized access to your property. Police also recommend securing all windows and doors overnight. If you choose to hide a key outside your residence in the event you ever get locked out, recognize that involves a potential risk; as an alternative, consider leaving a spare house key with a trusted neighbor. For more crime prevention tips to help you stay safe, visit our Crime Prevention Tips page.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call our 24-hour dispatch center at (650) 329-2413. Anonymous tips can be e-mailed to paloalto@tipnow.org or sent via text message or voice mail to (650) 383-8984.