Caught an Intruder

[MasseyWV]

Rather, I should say that I almost caught him.

To make a long story short, I had just walked over to my garage to work on my tractor when my wife called for me in a somewhat urgent way. Oddly enough, she wouldn't simply tell me what she wanted, but opted to run over to the garage to tell me instead.

As it turns out, she had been standing on the back deck of our home when she heard someone cough but she couldn't see anyone, at least not until she heard a branch snap under the weight of someone's foot which immediately drew her eyes to a man wearing a black shirt standing at the edge of our property. Knowing he had been seen, he immediately made a hasty retreat.

After learning what was going on, I ran to the house to get my pistol (for my protection) and went looking for him or some clue to where he may have went but saw nothing. I also called the police (more than 3 hours ago), but they have yet to show up. How's that for protection?

Our property is very private and it cannot be seen from the road due to a wooded area between us and a large field adjacent to our property. I'm certain the guy had ran off towards the field but can only speculate as to which direction he went after that.

The guy could have been standing there for a long time and I can only speculate what he was up to, but given the location where he was seen and it's view of our home and my garage, he had to have been either perving or casing our home for theft, probably the latter. That, and I strongly believe whoever it was had to have known the area very well, probably being a local.

Given our secluded location, we always knew that there was the possibility of something like this happening, and now that it has, I want to take measures to protect the perimeter of our property and perhaps even catch whoever it was if they are stupid enough to come back. Several possibilities come to mind, but suggestions are welcome.

 

[paulwestski]

Sounds like you don't have any dogs?
If not get a couple......they'll give you a excellent early warning of intruders.

 

[MasseyWV]

Sounds like you don't have any dogs?
If not get a couple......they'll give you a excellent early warning of intruders.

Actually I do have dogs, but oddly enough they didn't make a sound, probably because they were as unaware of the intruder as I was, or at least that's my theory anyway.

 

[rekees4300]

Given our secluded location, we always knew that there was the possibility of something like this happening, and now that it has, I want to take measures to protect the perimeter of our property and perhaps even catch whoever it was if they are stupid enough to come back. Several possibilities come to mind, but suggestions are welcome.

You need to protect yourself against the intruder by being prepared. In order to do so, without putting yourself in legal jeopardy, educate yourself on the self defense/trespassing laws in your state. When you hear glass breaking in the middle of the night you aren't going to have time to logon onto the Internet to study your rights or drive to the store to buy a gun. You need to have a plan of action backed with the resources and mental confidence to execute that plan. Forget about catching the guy, that's TV/movie BS. In real life confronting a stranger with the intent to apprehend him is dangerous and foolhardy. That job is for the police.

 

[GPintheMitten]

Look into some security cameras with infrared lights, dvr, motion detection, and maybe a trail camera.

 

[dave1949]

Is it against the law to stand on the edge of someone's property? Creepy yes, illegal, probably not, at least as far as your rights are concerned. There is that to consider in whatever actions you would plan.

 

[MasseyWV]

Is it against the law to stand on the edge of someone's property? Creepy yes, illegal, probably not, at least as far as your rights are concerned. There is that to consider in whatever actions you would plan.

They weren't merely on the edge of my property, they were on my property which is clearly marked. In other words, they were treaspassing.

 

[Tig]

These work well.
They have a door bell mode and can also be set to silent and to call a phone number, like your cell.

 

[texasjohn]

I ALWAYS pocket carry a KelTec PF9. Comfortable, American Made, fits front pocket of every pair of pants I own, extremely small and light. That way, I don't have to run to get personal protection. If I'm wearing pants, it's there, trust me. You won't notice it, but it's there. Threaten me with deadly harm, and you will see it.

What about a couple of the new game cameras which do NOT flash visible white or red light yet operate at night??

Call 911 with your emergency. If no one shows in a reasonable time, call back and tell them you have a body on the premises, while being vague about it being dead or alive. After all, both you and your wife are live bodies!! I can tell you from personal experience when I called and reported a body (actually dead), it was less than 5 minutes before LEO's started showing up.... something like 15 vehicles in all in the end.

Put 911 on everyone's quick dial.....thus all subsequent sound is reported to 911 and recorded....call and don't hang up....they are reluctant to hang up on you.

Get a bunch of dummy camera mounts.....put them in obvious locations....should be a deterrent to some people.

Remember that cell phones typically have a camera....given an encounter, a phone taking photos of the encounter should be a deterrent...practice whipping out the phone and snapping a photo extremely rapidly....unless carrying the aforementioned kelTec PF9

Nothing is fool proof, but hopefully you can harden the perimeter and identify intruders, call LEO's and defend yourself if required.

 

[sixdogs]

Geese are excellent watchdogs and nothing gets by them. Dogs sure help as well.

 

[MasseyWV]

Look into some security cameras with infrared lights, dvr, motion detection, and maybe a trail camera.

This is more in line with the type of answers I was hoping to receive. In fact, I've been considering cameras, IR detectors, remote sensing devices, trip wires connected to an alarm, or anything else which might be an effective aid in allowing me to know if someone is present without my knowledge with the added benefit of possibly even helping the police to catch them. Assuming that the police ever bother to respond to my call.

At this point, setting up an effective perimeter defense line is my primary concern, so all suggestions which help me to achieve that specific goal will be greatly appreciated.

 

[MasseyWV]

What about a couple of the new game cameras which do NOT flash visible white or red light yet operate at night?

Game cameras also came to mind, but do they make them in such a way as to make them easy to conceal? My concern is that an intruder would steal the camera if they spotted it.

 

[JD435Bill]

You have some good advise there. The only thing that I may have done different was to fire off a couple of shotgun blasts up in the air. I'm sure he would have heard them and it may have just sent the right message.

I would also be calling back the police to find out what happened to them and ask to make a formal report on the strange person.

Bill

 

[rekees4300]

So, what would you do in my position?

What I would do is call them repeatedly until they respond. What I wouldn't do is become a vigilante. If no help from the local sheriff (who is probably sitting in a doughnut shop) then call the state police. Even if they don't achieve anything but a police report, that would help to legally CYA if violence occurs.

 

[dex3361]

A lot of thieves will watch your house to see what your schedule is. Change your schedule around a bit to throw them off. Another thing is it is usually someone that lives close or knows you fairly well. Rural thieves are aware that most WV homes are well armed and want to avoid confrontation. That is why they mostly break in through the day. You are right to be on guard. Think about who would would be able to see you coming and going on a daily basis and make a list.

 

[Biggreenavalanche]

Solar charged motion floods on all corners, Remington 870 in a "safe" room, if you really wanna go all out CCTV, perimeter motion detector...however, the first two in conjunction with the dogs and a thorough understanding of your law and, some routine training for you and the missus should do the trick...if you catch him, don't back off prosecution ! I'm a cop, however I do understand that when seconds count the cops are just minutes away....just the way it is sometimes...

Rich

 

[MasseyWV]

A lot of thieves will watch your house to see what your schedule is. Change your schedule around a bit to throw them off. Another thing is it is usually someone that lives close or knows you fairly well. Rural thieves are aware that most WV homes are well armed and want to avoid confrontation. That is why they mostly break in through the day. You are right to be on guard. Think about who would would be able to see you coming and going on a daily basis and make a list.

There are a number of locals who come to mind, but I remain uncertain who it could have been, especially with so little information to go on. It all happened so fast that I'm still processing everything in my mind. The scary part is that while my home is well defended on the inside, I wasn't fully prepared for something quite like this. However, that will soon change.

The good news is that if a thief was casing my home to learn when noone is home, they'll be in for a long wait because someone is here about 99.999% of the time.

 

[dex3361]

There are a number of locals who come to mind, but I remain uncertain who it could have been, especially with so little information to go on. It all happened so fast that I'm still processing everything in my mind. The scary part is that while my home is well defended on the inside, I wasn't fully prepared for something quite like this. However, that will soon change.

The good news is that if a thief was casing my home to learn when noone is home, they'll be in for a long wait because someone is here about 99.999% of the time.

That is good that your home is seldom unattended. I would pay attention to who is scoping you out when you drive by. Be aware they may be casing for an invasion with you at home. I would consider the silent alarms as a quick early warning system. I would also make sure I had a weapon available in the shop/garage. If you are being watched and they are going to invade when you are there its better to be prepared. I know a lot of people may think it all sounds extreme but living rural means that the police are not likely close and you need to be prepared. Early warning could be your friend. I have dogs and thy are worth the weight for early warning.

 

[troutsqueezer]

I know it is fresh in your mind and you feel like you need to take immediate action but it might be prudent not to over react. You stated yourself that it would be stupid for him to come back. For all he knows, your wife got a good look at him and he is waiting for the police to show up at his doorstep.

I mention this because it would be quite an undertaking to set something up for perimeter detection. Expensive to say the least and no doubt there will always be holes in the system that are easily discovered if the guy was intent. Remember the guy whose watercraft stalled on a lake and he had to hoof it past a multi-million dollar detection system to get help from the international airport? Gives you an idea how hard it is. I would post several signs around the property and keep due diligence for awhile. Probably a local teenager.

 

[MasseyWV]

Solar charged motion floods on all corners, Remington 870 in a "safe" room, if you really wanna go all out CCTV, perimeter motion detector...however, the first two in conjunction with the dogs and a thorough understanding of your law and, some routine training for you and the missus should do the trick...if you catch him, don't back off prosecution ! I'm a cop, however I do understand that when seconds count the cops are just minutes away....just the way it is sometimes...

Rich

Nighttime lighting is relatively good around my property right now, but the spot where my wife saw the guy happens to be one of the few dark areas remaining. It's something I plan to address very soon.

And if by some miracle I do catch the guy, I will definitely press charges against him. This kind of thing may be scary, but I find that it pisses me off more than anything else. It is my home afterall.