Police note increase in northeast Indianapolis break-ins - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

Probably the biggest insult for any homeowner is someone breaking into your home and taking your stuff.

Metro police say they are seeing more reports of burglaries in northeast Indianapolis and more break-ins at night.

"When I came through the garage, I said to my wife, 'Why, I knew it'," said homeowner Ted Engle. "I said, 'There is someone in this house.'"

Engle says around midnight on Friday, he had been gone for only two hours to pick up his wife at the airport, when they came home and heard the burglar running from the bedroom, down the stairs.

"We raised five boys in this house. They never made as much noise as he did," he said.

Thankfully, that thief ran out the back door, never stopping to talk to Ted.

"He had a blue jacket on and that's about all I can remember. We caught him prime time. One more hour, if that plane had been late, he would have cleaned this place out," said Engle.

The thief did take some of Ted's wife's jewelry, gold necklaces and an emerald ring and some money. But it's what's missing from the living room, that doesn't make sense to this homeowner.

"He took a picture of my wife's great grandfather sitting on an ox. Then he took a screened picture, made in China, that I sold in supermarkets. It is worthless, maybe a couple bucks," Engle said.

The Engle family was apparently not the only ones robbed on Friday night. They figured that out because they found jewelry scattered all over their yard. It wasn't theirs, it belonged to their neighbors

"I am convinced it was the same person," Engle said.

Metro Police Officer Michael Hewitt says the northeast side has seen more than 10 break-ins in the last three weeks, most of which have been at night. He says neighborhood crime watches are on alert and homeowners should be, too.

Police are reminding residents to call 911 if you see something suspicious.

Eyewitness News has also learned that in this same area, nine cars have been stolen in the last three weeks, from residents' driveways and inside garages. Police say be vigilant and never leave your keys in the car.