App Alerts Homeowner on Vacation to Burglary, Showing 'Very Creepy Picture' in Real Time

A Washington couple had set up a camera system to help them keep an eye on their dogs while they were out of the house. Instead, they ended up seeing their home being burglarized in real time while they were out of town on vacation.

According to KOMO-TV, Melissa Hasley saw an alert on her husband's phone in the early morning while vacationing in Idaho. Thinking it was probably the neighbor checking on their dogs, Hasley was stunned when she saw a man -- not their neighbor -- inside their home.

Dropcam system helps homeowners see their home was broken into. (Image: KOMO video screenshot)

"So I immediately called my neighbor and said 'don't go into my house!' She thought I was joking with her," Hasley told KOMO. "I said, 'No, I'm serious. There's somebody in my house right now.'"

The police were called and showed up right as the burglar was leaving the house with a bag of goods. According to the report, the burglar dropped the bag, ran and got away.

"Backpacks and stuff went flying, so luckily we got all our stuff back," Hasley said, "And I got a really good story out of it. A very creepy picture."

Police hope the video footage recorded by the Hasley's system might help identify the would-be burglar. Watch KOMO's report with some of the feed from the attempted burglary:

Hasley said the system they installed is by Dropcam, which provides a remote feed and has features like motion detection. Police told KOMO, systems like this have been increasingly used to help solve crimes.

"When somebody calls in and says, 'hey, a guy's in my house and there's a burglary going on and I can see it on my cell phone,' every (police officer nearby) - we all go to that house," said Officer Carla Iafrate, spokeswoman for Bellevue Police, according to KOMO. "So the chances are, in many cases, we've really caught a lot of burglars."

Dropcam app alerted the homeowners that motion had been detected in their home. (Image: KOMO video screenshot)

Take a look at how Dropcam works in its promotional video:

Hasley said everyone laughed at her when they found out she and her husband had installed webcams to watch their dogs, but now they all want to know more about it. The Dropcam system costs between $149 to $248 per camera depending on the bundle.

(H/T: Good Morning America)

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