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OGDEN — Emily Johnson first noticed signs of a break-in at her home near 3050 South and 1500 East in Ogden Tuesday morning.
"I left the gym early. I don't usually do that," Johnson said, explaining that she felt a sudden urgency to go home. "(I) came into my living room, and there was stuff all over the floor that was in my bedroom. I went into my bedroom and all the drawers were opened."
Johnson said the burglar didn't take any electronics. He took mostly jewelry and a handgun, rifling through both her and her two oldest children's bedrooms. She said he also took her son's bicycle on the way out. The man got away with thousands of dollars in belongings.
"My son slept in the room with my daughter last night," she said. "She was pretty unnerved."
But unlike many burglary victims, Johnson got a good look at the suspect's face — thanks to a hidden camera.
"It's hard to watch," Johnson said. "It's an intrusion. You feel invaded. Your privacy is gone. It's unnerving."
Johnson is hoping the very clear images of the man's face, that she has since shared on Facebook, will help lead police to him. At the same time, she also feels some concern for her intruder.
"I feel bad for people like that," Johnson said. "You can see his face right in the camera. He looks so desperate, so desperate, and it's sad to see."
She has a sense empathy in this case because of challenging times her own family has faced in recent years.
"Once you go through something hard and really rough, it completely changes your perspective on people and what brought them to that point," she said.
Johnson explained how her family was homeless for about a year, bouncing between various friends' homes. At the same time, she said her husband battled cancer.
"He had melanoma before, and this was lymphoma, a very aggressive one. It was scary," she recalled.
While being burglarized and losing several family heirlooms isn't easy, Johnson noted that her family has "been through worse." She's hopeful the burglar will somehow be able to change for the better.
"I want specifically that person to be able to see what he's done, and maybe this will be his rock bottom, and maybe he can learn to change," Johnson said.
Anyone who believes they can identify the man is asked to call Ogden police at 801-629-8228, or email detectives@ogdencity.com.
