Poway Woman, 87, Chases Off Prowler From Friend's Home

Armed with her tough talk, Poway resident Darce Flowers came to her friend's rescue last week

An 87-year-old woman took matters into her own hands when her friend found a prowler inside her home.

Poway residents Mary Margaret Gross and her friend Darce Flowers spoke to NBC 7 exclusively on Wednesday.

Last Tuesday, Gross walked into her bedroom in her home on Aubrey Street and found a man digging through her drawers.

“I did reach for the phone, but I thought, 'If he heard me and had a knife, Oh God! What would he do?'” the 80-year-old Gross said.

So instead of calling 911, Gross says she repeatedly hit a button sending a call for help to her friend, Flowers, who lives next door.

Flowers answered the call and confronted the suspected prowler.

“I said you need to get out of here," said Flowers.

Gross told NBC 7, she recalled the prowler said he was looking for food.

“He was going toward the kitchen and I said, 'No, you need to get out of here,'" Flowers said.

Armed with just her tough talk, Flowers was able to scare the prowler out of the house without incident.

Gross told NBC 7 that Flowers is her hero.

"I don’t know what I’d do without her and now I’m doubly indebted to her,” she said.

One lesson she’s learned, is to make sure she locks her doors, Gross said. Although she is still not sure how the prowler got inside her home.

The women say he was arrested later the same day in Old Poway Park.

Contact Us