Lisa Scott
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Sep 09/05) - An early morning break-in this week has one Yellowknife senior wondering if her town is as safe as it used to be.

Yvonne Quick awoke to the rustling of an intruder around 5 a.m. Tuesday, initially calling out "who's there" in the dark.

The unidentified male didn't answer, but continued shuffling around the open concept house, going through a change tray and taking an Eddie Bauer vest from where it sat in her chair, just six feet from her bed.

Quick stood by the end of her bed and watched a big man with a toque on his head, deciding to keep quiet for her own safety.

"I didn't holler at him because I thought, 'No, that's a bad thing to do,'" she said a day after the incident.

Quick wasn't harmed during the theft, but she did lose her purse with $2,500 cash in it.

"They took the whole thing," she said.

She watched the intruder open the front door and leave. That's when Quick called the police.

Sgt. Mike Payne said there's little information for officers to go on. The investigation was concluded as of Wednesday.

He said the intruder came in through a window and the nature of the crime suggests that he may know Quick or had been watching the house.

Payne urges seniors to lock their doors and windows during the day and at night, and make sure they don't keep large amounts of cash on hand.

In the aftermath, Quick is more crime savvy. She plans to lock her doors for the first time in 36 years in Yellowknife.

"You didn't used to have to lock your car. You didn't used to have to lock your doors. It's a hard habit to get out of," she said.

"Now I think that I have to be aware and that seniors should be aware."