With the rise of the selfie in 2013 came many occasions where such photos, and even explicit videos, become evidence in criminal investigations. In most cases, smartphone thieves accidentally uploaded their own photos to a victim’s cloud or social media account.
But in one recent, creepy instance, a horrified Colorado mother found a stranger’s face on her phone the morning after he apparently broke into her house undetected—right as she was putting her children to sleep.
Denver Police released the disturbing photo of a bald, bearded, bespectacled interloper—he looks a bit like political commentator Andrew Sullivan, albeit 40 percent more hipster—and have offered a $2,000 reward for information leading to his arrest. The selfie was snapped around 9:30 p.m. on Jan. 29, but, tending to her kids, the victim “had no idea the man was in the house” and didn’t realize what had happened until she picked up her phone the next day, ABC reported. Authorities said that the "man has been seen in the neighborhood but no one seems to know his identity."
Because the invasion wasn’t a burglary, it’s tempting to think there’s some kind of personal infatuation at work. Maybe this guy thought he was being romantic? You know, with all the casual cruising people do on Facebook, Twitter, and OkCupid, he might have been nostalgic for the days of IRL stalking. With a digital flourish, of course, to show he’s still “with it.” One thing’s for sure: if this were my secret admirer, I’d get the hell out of town for Valentine’s Day.
H/T ABC | Photo by John Davey/Flickr
