Police searching for home invasion suspects

GLADWYNE, Pa. - September 22, 2009 (WPVI) -- "And at first I thought it was a joke, cause they were just standing there like that and I started screaming."

Housekeeper Henrietta Hinds says she was in the bathroom in the home alone in the 1200 block of Round Hill Road in Gladwyne when two men wearing masks appeared at the door.

"They have executioner masks over their faces."

She says they were armed with a knife when one of them picked her up by the throat and told her to keep quiet.

"I thought I was gonna die. And then they assured me, they really tried to assure me they weren't gonna hurt me, if I stayed quiet."

Hinds says that was around 9:00 a.m. She says they bound her arms and legs with duct tape and plastic tie wraps and put tape over her mouth before locking her in the basement. The men then ransacked the place and drove off in the homeowners 2007 Dark Blue Audi Q7. Police say at around 10:33 a.m., the homeowner returned to find the housekeeper tied up in the basement and called 911.

"They threatened me and I was very, very scared, I thought I was gonna die and I prayed and ask God to help me."

The homeowners declined to speak with reporters, but neighbors wondered if the bandits knew the couple was leaving on a big trip.

"The couple that was burglarized was supposed to leave on a big trip tomorrow and maybe they got their dates mixed up, thought they were leaving today," said Janice Keen.

In any event, neighbors in this Hermitage Development were startled to learn of a home invasion here.

"Well it's frightening, it's certainly not anything I expect in this neighborhood," said Kathy Dorsaneo.

"I'm not happy, I'm gonna start locking my doors and start turning on my security system, we've been very casual about it in the past," said Keen.

Another neighbor also told us they've never had to use their alarm system because they've never had a crime problem, but they're going to now.

Police are still looking for the homeowner's Audi Q7 with PA tag #GNW-8448.

You can get the latest crime statistics from the Philadelphia Police by CLICKING HERE for the force's crime data mapping site.

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