Man in ski mask caught on camera circling home near Cal Poly. See ‘really freaky’ video
Maddie Kavanaugh woke up on Friday morning to find security camera footage of a masked prowler lurking in her yard.
“It was terrifying,” the Cal Poly student told The Tribune of the incident.
A man wearing a ski mask paced the perimeter of her home from about 4 to 5 a.m. on Friday, Ring Camera footage showed. Occasionally, he would shine his flashlight into the windows and then continue walking around the yard.
“It was really freaky,” Kavanaugh said. “He was there for an hour, which felt like a really scary amount of time — knowing someone was walking around our house and looking in windows.”
She lives with a group of other Cal Poly students in a neighborhood near the southern edge of the university campus, off Hathway Avenue and Slack Street. One of them checks the security camera footage every morning, and they were surprised to discover footage of the prowler.
“We all were really, really scared when it first happened,” she said.
They reported the incident to the San Luis Obispo Police Department Friday morning. Luckily, the prowler hadn’t returned to the property as of Monday morning, Kavanaugh said.
Police were investigating the incident and did not yet have a suspect on Monday morning, San Luis Obispo Police Department spokesperson Christine Wallace said.
Police investigated a similar incident in February, when a person prowled around a property on Longview Alley. They did not catch the perpetrator, Wallace said.
If people spot the prowler, they should call the San Luis Obispo Police Department at 805-594-8072, she said.
On Friday, the students posted the footage on Nextdoor to warn others, Kavanaugh said.
They don’t know who the suspect could be. About a year ago, a friend of Kavanaugh’s spotted a similar prowler in their yard, she said.
Kavanaugh and their roommates have since increased security measures in their home.
“Just the past few nights, we’ve been super meticulous about locking doors,” she said.
A few friends slept on the couch on Saturday night to support them, and the students hoped to install motion sensor lights in the yard soon.
Kavanaugh meanwhile advised her neighbors to keep their doors locked, too.
“This was a total wake-up call to us to always make sure — no matter what — to make sure everything’s locked,” she said.
This story was originally published December 9, 2024 at 11:21 AM.
