PINE HILLS, Fla. — A family that was already forced out of their home Thursday afternoon by a possible sinkhole, now has to deal with the fact that someone burglarized their home while they were away.
Crews spent Friday working to fill the 10-foot-deep hole that opened up in the Pine Hills backyard and swallowed a swing set, while the family tried to understand what happened.
Dirt was dumped onto the driveway and then brought to the backyard to fill the possible sinkhole.
Linda Wooldridge and her husband have lived in the home since 1985 and she said she couldn’t believe someone would make their situation worse by burglarizing their home.
“We get here and find out someone smashed our front door,” she said.
An engineer took soil samples and worked to determine if it’s a ground depression or sinkhole.
Crews stabilized the area where the hole opened up by using pillars and filling the hole with dirt.
A sign was posted on the home on Lake Horseshoe Drive saying it was unsafe and the family had to find another place to sleep Thursday night.
While they were gone, investigators said someone used a rock to smash in the stained-glass window and stole the couple’s belongings.
“I don’t know for sure what they took because we haven’t has access to the house to take an inventory,” Wooldridge said.
The homeowners said there is surveillance video in the area and the Sheriff’s Office is now investigating Thursday night’s burglary.
Late Thursday fire officials were leaning toward a depression because it's not as deep as a sinkhole, which normally reaches the water table.
The idea of a sinkhole rattled homeowners and their neighbors. Some neighbors said, however, they expected something like that to happen.
“This used to be an orange grove and it was sand,” neighbor Larry Johnson said.
The hole caused the foundation of the home to crack.
Neighbors near the property were allowed to stay because no apparent problems were found on their property.
The hole caused the foundation of the home to crack.
WFTV
