Local

Belle Isle homeowner catches woman crawling through window

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — A great-grandmother in Orange County got the scare of her life Friday morning, when she caught a woman trying to crawl into her house through an open window.

The minute the woman saw Belle Isle homeowner Joanne Truesdell, however, she took off down the road, then sped away on a bicycle.

Truesdell, 76, said she’s glad because she believes she could have been seriously hurt.

“And I look toward the window and somebody’s head comes up,” she said.

Thinking the person may have been a relative or a delivery man, Truesdell walked into the kitchen to get a closer look.

That’s when she saw the woman halfway into the window, which is covered with security bars.

Truesdell walked toward her patio, still wondering who could be on the patio trying to get in.

“I got around this way to the door and missed her completely,” said Truesdell.

She hurried to the garage to get a closer look at the woman and when she went outside, she saw the girl get on her bicycle and take off down the sidewalk on Hoffner Avenue.

That’s when she realized the woman was trying to break in.

“What she thought she was going to get, I have no idea,” Truesdell said.

She called police and an officer was sent to her home to investigate, but the department doesn’t appear to have any solid leads yet.

The incident has left the grandmother of 10 and great-grandmother to 10 more alert, fearing what could have happened.

Truesdell said she got a good look at the woman and will be able to help police identify her.