Campbell River home invasion victim shares terrifying experience

Janet Mitchell was in a “deep sleep” Wednesday when she heard a loud banging sound outside her house.

“It was so loud it sounded like it was inside the house,” she said.

But when she looked out her window, she saw three people attempting to break down her front door around 4 a.m.

"He had something in his hand and he just kind of went, ‘Yeah what are you going to do about it?’ And I thought, ‘I shouldn't be standing near a window right now,’ so I left that area very quickly and called police."

When police arrived, the three suspects had already fled.

But Mitchell’s surveillance camera footage shows the three people aggressively trying to kick in her door.

It also showed one suspect who appeared to be holding a weapon.

"The contractors who replaced my door found ammunition the next day,” she said.

Mitchell says she’s terrified the group will return to her house so she installed additional cameras and new locks throughout her home.

The broken door cost her around $2,000 to replace.

“I’ve got nothing for them, my house is unassuming, I have an older car, there’s nothing out front or even out back that would say, ‘Hey this would be a good place to try and break in.’”

Mitchell has posted the videos of the attempted break-in on Facebook, and they have been shared more than 600 times.

She says she feels hopeful the three people will get caught.

Mounties in Campbell River are asking the public for help identifying the three suspects in the attempted home invasion.

All three suspects were wearing medical face masks.

Police described a man they referred to as Suspect 1 as white with black or dark brown hair and "extended sideburns and scruffy facial hair." He has a medium build and is somewhere between 20 and 35 years old, police said.

Suspect 2 is a woman approximately 18 to 28 years old with a "slender to athletic build," police said, adding that she "possibly has purple or red highlights" in her hair.

Police described Suspect 3 as a white man with a medium to athletic build.

The Campbell River detachment is asking anyone with information about the attempted home invasion to contact it at 250-286-6221. Tips can also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.