Police report that a burglary occurred in Hawleyville on the morning of Tuesday, December 2, at a home on Old Bethel Road, near the Bethel town line.

At some time between 10:35 and 10:45 am, a white man estimated to be 35-to-40 years old with short brown hair, who was wearing a blue jacket and blue pants, forced his way into the house by kicking in a rear door, apparently believing that no one was inside the building at that time, said police Detective Jason Frank.

The intruder then briefly encountered a person who was inside the house and told the person,  “There’s a fire in your backyard,” apparently in seeking to create a diversion to his breaking into the house, Det Frank said.

The man then ran out of the house and left the area in an unknown direction, the detective said.

There was no fire. No items were stolen in the incident. The person who had been inside the house during the incident was not injured.

After receiving a call about the incident at 10:50 am, six police responded to investigate.

Police are seeking help from the public in solving the crime. Police ask any witnesses to suspicious activity in that area at that time to contact them at the police station at 203-426-5841.

Any tips provided would be kept confidential, police said.