Woman confronts intruder who forced her front door open, police say

A woman confronted a man who was breaking into her home in Vancouver’s Sunnyside neighborhood Tuesday afternoon. The man fled and escaped, said Sgt. Bill Roberts with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

About 3:35 p.m., the woman was upstairs in her home on Northeast 106th Way, in the Barberton area near Interstate 205 and St. Johns Road, when she heard someone ringing her door bell and pounding on her door.

She looked downstairs and saw a man had forced the front door open and was coming inside, Roberts said.

When the woman yelled at the intruder he ran; she wasn’t reported injured.

Several sheriff’s deputies rushed to the scene, with K-9 teams from the sheriff’s office and Vancouver Police Department, and searched the area unsuccessfully.

Police believe there could have been two people involved, and the intruder ran to a car and escaped.

The intruder was described as a white man about 30 years old, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with a heavy build and short hair. He wore a black baseball cap, a black long-sleeved sweatshirt and black shorts.

A solicitor’s note on the front door may have attracted the burglar, who may have figured no one was home, Roberts said.

Anyone with information is asked to call 911 and ask to speak with Deputy Fred Harrison.

John Branton: 360-735-4513 or john.branton@columbian.com.