In a terrifying moment, a woman climbs onto a roof to hide from an intruder who is only a few feet behind her.
In a shocking incident in Venice, California, a woman found herself in a terrifying situation when an intruder broke into her home.
Melora Rivera was in bed when the events unfolded, leading her to a desperate escape onto her roof.
Photos show woman climbing roof to escape intruder only feet away from her
It happened in September 2014.
Melora was sound asleep in her house when she heard a loud noise. An intruder had kicked down her front door.
This sudden chaos jolted her awake.
Realizing the danger she was in, Melora quickly jumped out of bed to find safety.
As the intruder, later identified as Christian Hicks, made his way into her home, Melora knew she had to act fast.
She crawled out of her bedroom window to escape him.
In a moment of quick thinking, she managed to grab her phone and call 911 while fleeing.
“He managed to break one of these panels and reach in to unlock the door.
Once I saw him in the house, I knew that we both couldn’t be there.”
The woman made a desperate call for help.
As Melora climbed onto the roof, she was still in a state of panic.
She feared for her life and wanted to avoid any confrontation with the intruder.
While hiding under the eaves of the roof, she spoke to a dispatcher on the other end of the line.
The intruder was still pursuing her, adding to her fear.
Melora shared her thoughts during the ordeal: “I knew that I didn’t want to have a confrontation with him, not knowing what his intention was.”
Her instincts kicked in, and she chose to hide instead of risking a dangerous encounter.
She felt trapped by the height.
While on the roof, Melora faced the reality of her situation.
She realized the height of the drop was more than 20 feet. This made her feel trapped.
She thought about what would happen if the police forced the intruder to hide in the same spot as her.
The fear of being discovered was overwhelming.
She added: “The drop is, I would guess, more than 20 feet. So there was no safely jumping off the roof or coming down from the roof at that point.
“It was my biggest fear was that he was going to be forced by the cops to come hide in basically the same place I was hiding.”
Fortunately, local authorities responded quickly.
Police arrived at the scene less than two minutes after receiving Melora’s call.
She felt relieved knowing help was on the way, but the experience was still frightening.
A neighbor witnessed the entire incident.
A neighbor, Alexandria Thompson, witnessed the commotion.
She saw Melora on the roof and noted the chaos caused by the break-in.
Alexandria called the police when she noticed the intruder in her yard earlier that day.
She later saw the man in handcuffs after the police apprehended him.
The bystander said: “I saw this guy this morning in handcuffs. I’ve seen him in my yard. I called the police.”
However, the situation took a turn.
Although Hicks was initially detained, he was later released because the person who called the police did not identify him in person.
This decision left Melora feeling uneasy about the outcome.
The woman advocated for better mental health support.
After the incident, Melora spoke out about the broader issues of homelessness and mental illness in her community.
She believes that many people in the area suffer from mental health problems and that more needs to be done to help them.
“I think it’s very obvious for most of us who live around here, when someone seems to be suffering from a mental illness, and to continue to let these people walk around without offering them assistance, to protect them and us,” she added.
