A mother's worst nightmare came true when she received panicked texts from her daughter after a stranger broke into the house while she was babysitting.
Savannah Jones, 14, became suspicious after hearing a knock on her front door while she was watching her 4-year-old niece in her California home on Tuesday, CBS News reports.
When she looked through the peephole, she saw a bald man standing on the other side of the door and noticed the handle was beginning to move.
Quickly, she took her niece Zoyee into the master bathroom and texted her mother for help before the intruder knocked down the front door.
The quick-thinking teen wrote to her mom, and said,
Cuz I'm am with Zoyee and someone is knocking. They tryna open it mom.
At the time, their mom, Maria Muratalla, was stuck in traffic so she contacted their neighbor for help, who called the police and rushed to the scene.
Before police arrived, the girls could hear the robber as he rummaged through various rooms in the house and stole her family's belongings.
At one point, the intruder was inside the master bedroom that connected to the bathroom where the girls were hiding.
Savannah spoke about the scary moment, saying,
I kept staring at the door and hoping he wouldn't try to open it.
The courageous teen admitted to KTLA she was more concerned for the safety of her niece than herself, stating,
I was very scared not so much for myself, but just Zoyee.
Luckily, neither of the girls were discovered while the robber was inside the house.
However, by the time authorities arrived, he had already escaped. He is still on the loose.
Savannah described the robber as a bald black man with a dark-colored sweatshirt and jeans.
When asked how she feels about the situation, the teen admitted her agony and said,
Relief, and then knowing that he's still out there, I don't know, scary.
If you know any information on the suspect, you should call Montclair police at 909-621-4771.
Citations: Heroic babysitter, 14, texted for help and hid herself and four-year-old niece in a bathroom when an intruder kicked down front door and ransacked her home (DailyMail.com)
