SAN DIEGO -- Hannah Wilder's teenage son came home to a ransacked home and valuables gone, but the big shock came when police revealed how the burglar likely got in.
“It’s violating and you feel like, ‘How dare you!’” said Wilder.
On Friday – just before 4 in the afternoon -- her son Owen, 15, returned home from school and found the home tossed.
The $1,500 laptop he had saved for two years to buy was gone and missing from his drawer: cash and gift cards. One other laptop and two iPads were also taken.
“When I heard about it, fear gripped my heart. I’m just relieved my son did not walk into the burglary,” said Wilder.
An open door to the garage was the burglar's likely exit point. But with no signs of forced entry and after looking over the house, the police officer came to an unexpected conclusion.
“He was pretty sure that's how they came in -- through the dog door,” said Wilder.
The door measures 7 1/2 inches wide by 11 inches high.
Who could have fit? Neighbors spotted three people with caps with the letter “A” going door-to-door offering stucco services. Was it them?
“I never would have thought someone could have gotten in this way. I want neighbors to be aware and to look out for each other,” said Wilder.
Wilder says the stucco people spotted in the neighborhood -- two men and one woman -- were spotted parking a white van with green lettering in her driveway.
Wilder has plans to take out the dog door and install a security system.
A Gofundme campaign has been set up to help replace her son's laptop.