Police: Thief entered home by tunneling through floor

GASTONIA, N.C. — A homeowner in Gastonia is frustrated after an unusual break-in did thousands of dollars of damage.    
 
Even police were surprised by the amount of work it took the thief to get in the home.  
 
If you walk around the home, you're not going to find any broken windows or doors kicked in...but inside it didn't take us long to find where the thief came right up through the floor. 
 
There is damage to the floor inside the guest bedroom at the home in the Green Acres neighborhood.   It was here where someone came up through a crawl space and made a hole about the width of my boot across.   The homeowner didn't want her face on camera but told us it happened while she was away at work.
 
"I'm in awe.   I can't even try to explain a mindset of that nature," she said.
 
We followed the path of the burglar today, who first had to get into the crawl space and then work his way across the dirt under the home to reach the area below the guest bedroom.  The ducts for the heating and air was damaged.  
 
Alaska Geter lives across the street.   He heard a racket yesterday morning but never thought someone would do this.  
 
"Like nailing wood together or banging a chair loose.  Something like that. I didn't pay any more attention. It didn't last long," Geter said.
 
Once inside, the thief took a computer, money, jewelry and other items.   But the damage done to the home to get to those valuables will cost even more to fix. 
 
"I think it is bad you have to go to the degree to secure my home.  I never would have thought someone would go through a crawl space of my home to break into my home," Geter said.
 
That homeowner is considering changing security companies and adding more motion sensors.

The report shows the damages and losses here run in the thousands.

WSOC