Hanford family says thief used random garage door clicker to steal bikes while they were sleeping

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- The Durst family in Hanford has had their car stolen, their Christmas decorations ruined in their front yard, but they say it's what happened inside their garage Friday morning that was the final straw.

Thankfully, their four home surveillance cameras caught exactly what happened early Friday morning, just before Devin Durst left for work: A man walking into their garage, and riding one of their bikes out about a minute later.

They say another bike is also missing. But it's one frame that the Durst's say explains how the suspect got into their garage, even though it had been shut all night and their clickers were secure.

"You have a shape of a hand, and a square in your hand," explained Devin Durst. "I mean that's some kind of a clicker or something because there was a pause of him and he was even ducking down to come in when it was raising up."

"I was like what the heck, so we're just mainly wanting to let people know hey there's people walking around middle of the night, just not minding their own business, but wanting to see what they can get their hands on," Melissa Durst said.

The Durst's are grateful he didn't take more, or enter their home through another door, which was locked. It still has the family shaken up, and ready to move out of the neighborhood.

"I mean it really bothered me you know, that really bothered me," Devin Durst said.

Durst says he came home from work immediately after his wife told him she didn't leave the garage door open, and didn't move a different bike in front of the door into their home.

"When she got up she said, 'Hey I didn't move that bike,' and then my stomach flipped," Devin Durst said. "I was like somebody was in our garage and they didn't know we had cameras."

The video will help with Hanford Police's investigation, and Sgt. James Lutz recommends all homeowners invest in surveillance.

"It's quite disturbing to know that you're inside your house in the middle of the night and someone can go in your garage and take your personal property," Lutz said. "It's pretty brazen by the criminals to do that."

He says petty theft is up overall in Hanford. The Durst's say they'll invest in locks for their garage until they're able to move across town.

For now, they say they just want their two-year-old son's bike back, which looks something like this one.

"Why steal candy from a baby, you know?" Melissa Durst said. "They're innocent. Just give the bike back, no questions asked."