Woman reports two intruders fled from house

A Newport Beach woman came home early Monday afternoon while two men were burglarizing her house, spurring a city-wide manhunt for the suspects, police said.

The woman, who lives near Catalina Drive and Broad Street, called police about 12:30 p.m. to report that she found two strangers in her bedroom. They ran out the front door when she screamed for help. Police set up a perimeter around the house and used dogs and helicopters to help with the search.

It is not clear whether the burglars managed to steal anything.

The burglars appeared to be in their 20s. One was bald and other wore his hair in corn rows, police said. They were wearing black T-shirts and blue jeans, Sgt. Jerry Lowe said.

“If there are any witnesses, they can contact our detective division with any information they may have about suspicious people seen in the neighborhood,” Lowe said.

Twenty minutes later, another burglary was reported a few miles away at Irvine Avenue and Santiago Drive. Investigators did not know if the two break-ins were related, Lowe said.

“Unfortunately it’s not uncommon in this town,” Lowe said. “It sounds like they did a fairly decent job ransacking the house.”

The detective division can be reached at (949) 644-3790.

— Chris Caesar