Home invasion has Stephenville Crossing woman calling for more community surveillance

A woman on Newfoundland's west coast wants to see an increase in community surveillance following a home invasion that she said has been traumatic for her family. 

Crystal Colson told CBC News her 15-year-old daughter came running into her bedroom early Thursday morning screaming that someone had been in her room. 

Colson said her daughter told her someone opened her bedroom door and approached her bed. She thought it was her mother checking on her, Colson said, but when she realized it was a stranger, she  started to scream and the man reached out to put his hands over her mouth.

Her daughter escaped through the bedroom door and ran to her mother's bedroom.

"I got up and I panicked and I went to look for my boyfriend and he was already gone, going after him," said Colson. 

She said the intruder fled on a bicycle. He appeared to be in his mid-20s and was wearing a plaid jacket and jeans, she said.

She called the Bay St. George RCMP, who took a statement and are investigating.

For the next few nights, Colson said, her daughter slept at her grandmother's house because she felt uncomfortable staying in the home. She believes the man got in through her back room, which has a broken door frame, and she wasn't aware that it wasn't closed properly.

"She is shaken up over it … but she is quite confident that it won't happen no more," she said.

Colson said she believes the RCMP is doing a good job trying to collect security video and looking for evidence using the canine unit but it happened late at night and so far no one has reported seeing anything.

"It almost makes me a bit worried the same thing could possibly happen again but to another family." 

Colson said she feels crime is getting worse in her community over the years. She said an increased police presence would help. There also used to be a community watch program, she said, and she hopes to start something similar.

"Lately it has been like this around here — people are stealing things out of people's yards, people are assaulting people and robbing people and robbing our stores here," she said.

A spokesperson for the RCMP told CBC News they would check crime reports to see if crime in the area has increased.