A Langley family is reeling after finding a man with a hunting knife hiding in their basement early Tuesday morning.
The father of the house, John Buchinski, said it was a frightening experience coming face-to-face with the armed intruder, but it could have been even worse if the man had gone unnoticed.
“I would have gone to work and this guy would have been in the basement with my two daughters at home, and that’s pretty unnerving,” Buchinski said.
The terrifying incident started when Buchinski’s wife was heading out to work around 4 a.m. She noticed someone had broken into her truck, and there was a stranger's bike at their gate.
She also saw one of the doors to their home was ajar.
Buchinski said they soon realized one of their daughters' wallets was missing as well. He headed downstairs to look around and the intruder suddenly leapt out of a basement closet with the knife.
“It all kind of unraveled so fast,” Buchinski said. “I backed up the stairs, him coming towards me, really like five feet between us.”
The father shouted to his family to let them know the man was inside and armed. Eventually, the burglar wound up trapped in their garage, and Buchinski offered to let him out if he handed over his daughter’s wallet.
“To my surprise, he did,” Buchinski said.
The suspect ran away without his shoes, which were later found at the residence. Mounties were called to the scene but were unfortunately unable to locate him, despite help from the Lower Mainland Police Dog Services.
The RCMP said officers are now hunting for a suspect described as a young, white man with a darker complexion, 5’9” or 5’10” tall, who was last wearing a hoodie and grey socks.
Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact the Langley detachment at 604-532-3200, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS to remain anonymous.
With a report from CTV Vancouver’s Michele Brunoro
