Woman watches on surveillance system as man burglarizes her Cooper City home

Jewelry stolen from home Monday morning, deputies say

COOPER CITY, Fla. – A South Florida woman said she is frightened after her home was burglarized Monday morning.

Michelle Miller-Hayle lives on a quiet street in Cooper City with her husband and their two children.

"We had researched everywhere and we found it to be one of the most safe neighborhoods. It's why we moved there," she said. 

Miller-Hayle said she hasn't been able to sleep ever since the burglary.

"It's hard knowing someone invaded your privacy like that, and me and my kids could have been home," she said. 

Miller-Hayle said she was at work when she got a call from her security company that her alarm was going off. She quickly accessed the live feed from a surveillance camera inside her home and saw a man running from her bedroom, trying to get out of the house.

Broward Sheriff's Office deputies said the thief was holding jewelry, but Miller-Hayle said he could have taken other items too. She just hasn't been able to bring herself to check.

"We know he had stuff in his hand, but when I go in there, I just turn away, because I just can’t deal with it," Miller-Hayle said. 

Miller-Hayle said the crook squeezed through a small window in her 7-year-old daughter's room to get into the home.

Just minutes later, he escaped out a side door. Deputies arrived soon after the break-in, but the man was long gone.

Another neighbor's security camera captured a car driving in front of Miller-Hayle's home just before and after the break-in.

She said the man not only took her things, but took her sense of security, too.

"If he got away with stuff, so be it. I have my life, my husband, my kids. Nothing happened to us, so whatever he got away with is materialistic, but I don't feel safe in my own home," Miller-Hayle said. 

Neighbors are on high alert, even calling the police when they saw Local 10 News reporter Ian Margol in the area. 

Anyone with information about the burglar's identity is asked to call Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.