The victim’s video shows a woman in a light blue vest at the front door.
HOUSTON — A Southwest Houston family is asking for your help. They want to know why a woman who is seen on camera swapped out their package with an empty box and they want their package back.
The homeowner is sharing his story Friday night to give his neighbors a heads up about the bizarre way his package was taken so they can be on the lookout for the alleged porch pirates.
“Somebody went through it pretty quick and I don’t think it was a mistake,” Tony Barrows said while showing our crew the box left on his porch Friday afternoon.
Barrows lives in the Woodshire neighborhood. He and his family provided doorbell camera footage from Friday afternoon, which shows a woman on video appearing to swap out a previously delivered package containing Christmas gifts with an empty, crumpled box that had a different address.
She is also seen going through another Amazon bag off-camera.
Because a police report hasn’t been filed we are blurring the woman’s face.
However, you can still see the vest she’s wearing, which caught Barrows’ eye immediately.
“After reviewing the footage it looked like an Amazon driver until we saw her drop this off and then pick that one up and walk to her car,” Barrows said.
Safewise, a safety advisory group, ranks Houston fifth in the worst cities for package theft this year with more than $207 million in items taken.
“It is kind of crazy with holidays. You see all kinds of strange vehicles that you don’t normally see in your neighborhood,” Barrows said.
If something similar happens at your home, call the authorities.
Barrows said his family will take the empty box left on their doorstep to the address listed on it to see if there is a pattern of missing packages in this neighborhood.
Photojournalist Cesar Nunez contributed to this report.