Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Four burglaries in a Wichita neighborhood in one night. One ended with an 11 year-old girl walking into a house and scaring off the intruders.

It happened at the Twin Oaks Estates mobile home park near I-235 and S. Seneca. Now, police say there might even be a fifth, as officers were still on the scene Tuesday morning looking into another break-in at the park.

For 11 year-old Alyce Leonhardt, she got the shock of her life when she walked inside her home and realized she interrupted two intruders.

Leonhardt just wanted to go to bed at about midnight. The first thing she noticed was all the clothes strewn about.

"I was just walking and stopped halfway in the middle of the hallway... about right here," Leonhardt explained as she walked toward the back of the house.

It took a few seconds to figure out, but Alyce realized it was a burglary when the suspects jumped out the bedroom window.

"I was kinda just frozen and I was trying to process everything because it never happened to me before," Leonhardt said.

Alyce got a decent look at one of the burglars, but just wanted to get out after that.

"I stopped right here and I looked back there, saw someone with a white shiny coat with gold lining on the side of the coat and they jumped out the window," she said.

Alyce and her Aunt Samantha Wright called police. Now they're left with picking up the mess.

"They pulled everything out," Wright said. "They knocked everything off the shelves. My closet, it didn't really have a lot in it, but everything they just pulled out onto the floor."

The burglars even had trash bags packed with items they intended to steal.

"I'm a little scared to take some security precautions in the future," Wright said, "but I think as of right now, I just want to get it all cleaned up so I can get back to my life."

Wright had been taking online college courses, but the thieves stole her computer. She has no way to even get a hold of her teachers to tell them.

If you have any information about the burglaries at the Twon Oaks Estates mobile home park late Monday, call Crime Stoppers at (316) 267-2111. If your tip leads to an arrest, you'll be eligible for a cash reward.