13-year-old girl calls for help while hiding during home invasion

ROSS TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Two men are behind bars thanks to the actions of a teenager.

She was by herself when they broke into her Ross Township home.

Investigators told Channel 11 the 13-year-old girl did the right thing and helped police get the two men into custody.

"There were police with like AR-17s or whatever those guns are, and then multiple police dogs," said Carolyn Ewalt, who watched from across the street in Governor's Ridge.

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"There was a 13-year-old girl who had heard people inside of her house and was able to hide up there while she called 911," said Detective Brian Kohlhepp, with Ross Township Police.

When officers got there, police said Tyler Morton and Marese Shields, both from Beltzhoover, ran off.

Officers found one of them hiding under a nearby deck.

The other allegedly ran to two restaurants and asked them to call him a taxi.

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Police eventually tracked him down in a Z-Trip minivan.

"It’s horrifying. I think in general, this is a safe community, and to hear that someone ... could have done that, it doesn’t happen here," Ewalt said.

Police told Channel 11 they don't know why the home was targeted.

The men are charged with one count each of burglary and conspiracy.

Cox Media Group