Teen Girl Outsmarts A Hotel Room Invader Using A Tip She Received From Her Police Officer Dad
Four days ago, a woman from Canada, Josie Bowers, published a TikTok, recalling the moment when a tip from her police officer stepdad potentially saved her life.
In the video which has already amassed over 10 million views, Bowers described an attempted invasion into her hotel room when she was just a teenager.
At the time, she was on holiday with her family in Ocean City, Maryland, USA, when a man used a contraption to open the hotel door from the outside.
Image credits: josiebowers10
Josie – who was 15 – was all alone in the room when the intruder slipped the device under the bottom of the door and used it to pull down the handle from the outside.
After she relived the “scariest experience” of her life in a series of videos on TikTok, her account quickly went viral.
The 19-year-old said that she “was staying in Ocean City, at the Hilton, right there on the waterfront, and I went to go shower as the rest of my family was down at the beach. I was by myself.”
“My main thought was holy s*** I’m in a towel right now and someone is about to break in and get me. So the door opens a crack, and I just slammed it back shut and put the deadbolt on.”
The man then told her he was there to fix the door – but Josie had her suspicions.
@josiebowers10#duet with @braccozz #hotel #staysafe #storytime #fyp #oceancity #hilton♬ Amityville Horror – Scary Halloween Sound Effects – Halloween Sound Effects
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
“So they tell me your keycard is broken and we need to get into the room and fix your keypad for you,” she continued. “And so I open the door a tad bit, to see if it was a worker. It clearly wasn’t, they were in jeans and a T-shirt. Hilton keeps it pretty classy, not the attire.”
But even in the heat of the moment, Josie remembered a tip she got from her police officer stepdad.
“So I think I’m very smart for this one, my stepdad is a police officer, he taught me never to let people know you’re alone.”
“I yelled ‘Hey dad, there’s someone here to fix the door.’ As soon as they thought that I wasn’t alone – and potentially my dad was there – they ran, they were gone.”
Josie told the story in hope that her experience will alert others to the danger, encouraging them to stay safe.
“I’m glad I had this experience so I can teach people about it. Obviously, I’m safe but it could have ended up a lot worse,” she said. “Be safe, you can get door stoppers, always put on the deadbolt.”
@josiebowers10Reply to @emmade1rey #part2♬ original sound – josie bowers 🌙
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Journalist Mark Ellwood, who has lived out of a suitcase for most of his life, pointed out that the lack of reliable data makes the topic of hotel theft “a murky one.”
Whether it’s a one- or five-star spot, hotels prefer to discourage guests from turning incidents into a statistic. “Nine times out of ten, people who have an incident [in a hotel] don’t go to the police,” criminologist Bob Arno, who specializes in travel safety, told Ellwood. Companies treat their properties as mini-republics and are not willing to make any internal figures public.
Paul Frederick, the former vice president of global security for Starwood, who now runs his own firm, added that in his experience, 90 percent of theft is in public areas, and just 10 percent occurs in rooms.
However, no matter the percentage, it’s the room-related crime that feels violating the most—an unwelcome stranger, in a supposedly safe space, going through your personal stuff.
@josiebowers10Reply to @lionacreates #part3 #oceancity♬ original sound – josie bowers 🌙
Image credits: josiebowers10
Image credits: josiebowers10
Here’s how people reacted to Josie’s story
NEVER leave the door unbolted when you're in a hotel. They all have various bolts, chains, and levers on the inside of the door and they're there for a reason. NEVER leave those unllocked.
Also NEVER try to break in to somebody’s room!
oh what a wonderful world that would be...
Rule number 1. If you see another person besides yourself Don’t rape them.
my room was bolted, and the housekeeping staff used the key to get in, and held a 9mm to my head and a gun and knife to my 14 yr olds throat..there are never guarantees, you just need to be prepared...oh by the way, I am a 'cops kid' as well and was always told to be aware of what going on around you so I was able to keep myself calm enough to get descriptions of the person with me (someone else had the knife to my daughters throat) so they were caught within maybe 20 mins to half an hour..big thing is don't look them in the eyes, because its threatening to them and thats when they become really dangerous..
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The bolt consist of the fact the outside k**b runs empty without actually opening the door.
The commentary is rather unhinged, like "irresponsible, see Madeline McCann" about a 15y old! By 16 they're allowed to drive i.e. two lethal tonnes of high-speed steel. At 12 you can travel across the country unsupervised.
IKR? And the parents weren't out drinking or partying, they were all at the beach. Maybe she got tired of the sun, and wanted to come back and take a shower before dinner. And all those comments about don't open the door. She only did so, whilst the deadbolt was on.
Nope. In her own words, she opened the door to see who it was, THEN put the deadbolt on. ..."“My main thought was holy s*** I’m in a towel right now and someone is about to break in and get me. So the door opens a crack, and I just slammed it back shut and put the deadbolt on.”
No, you misunderstood. It was the guy who opened the door, so she slammed in it to shut him out, then put the deadbolt on. Only afterwards, when the guy claimed he's there to fix the door, it was her opening it a bit to see the person outside, but with the deadbolt on. She was standing there in the room after coming out of the shower watching the door opening, but it wasn't her.
and the dog fighting thing? Sounds like something an idiotic teenage would think sounds awesome and any adult would just wonder what the hell is wrong with you.
Thank you Marcellus... I was thinking the same thing. 15 year olds stay by themselves, baby sit other children, can drive alone in one year and would NOT be happy if they were treated like a toddler. That's ridiculous.
Run immediately??? Where? If your 6 stories up and someone is trying to break into your room, where the hell are you gonna run to? Out the window? Yeah, ok. Let me just death dive out the window real quick and then I'm safe. She did a smart move though by calling for a parent.
Thank you I was thinking the same thing. And almost all hotels now the windows don't open, so where in the hell are you supposed to go? lol
I think she was stitching (adding onto) the original post (the one with the contraption). Two videos filmed by different people made into one
Yes, running won't be of much use in this situation. My advice would be, grab a chair if there is one and jam that door, then immediately call hotel security. If the threat escalates, make a LOOOOT of noise, scream... bang things against walls and floors, be really loud... this will alert people in your vicinity and more likely than not someone will come see why you're being so annoying and help you out or scare them away.
In a situation like that, the red "in case of fire break glass" box on the wall suddenly becomes your new best friend!
Geoff C. "the red "in case of fire break glass" box on the wall" is OUTSIDE in the hallway so how is that going to help or be your "new best friend?" For a threat in the hallway it's a good idea if the fire extinguisher *might* be able help if it's near to you and not the abuser... but otherwise, ???
Run back to the bathroom.
Cursed: "Run back to the bathroom" and do what? If they broke into the main door, what's going to stop them from breaking through the bathroom door?
Yes, and lock the door and hopefully the phone cord will reach the bathroom and you can grab the phone and make a call from the bathroom.
I've never seen a hotel phone with cord that is usually right next to the bed "reach into the bathroom."
or the kitchen, and grab a knife
Assuming you have a kitchen and a knife in your hotel.
probably not the best idea. They're likely expecting a struggle.
true, but if you are armed, you can't fight at your full power when you are only covered by a towel, either fight naked, Or fight lazily to just keep the towel up.
I never had a normal hotel room with a "kitchen and a knife."
Yup, so dumb “We’ve got the VERY BEST of advice for you when you’ve never seen one of these things before (have you!!). Freak n run out the 2nd or 3rd hotel room door.” As dumb as using TikTok - let China steal all your data/imagery, etc immediately.
NEVER leave the door unbolted when you're in a hotel. They all have various bolts, chains, and levers on the inside of the door and they're there for a reason. NEVER leave those unllocked.
Also NEVER try to break in to somebody’s room!
oh what a wonderful world that would be...
Rule number 1. If you see another person besides yourself Don’t rape them.
my room was bolted, and the housekeeping staff used the key to get in, and held a 9mm to my head and a gun and knife to my 14 yr olds throat..there are never guarantees, you just need to be prepared...oh by the way, I am a 'cops kid' as well and was always told to be aware of what going on around you so I was able to keep myself calm enough to get descriptions of the person with me (someone else had the knife to my daughters throat) so they were caught within maybe 20 mins to half an hour..big thing is don't look them in the eyes, because its threatening to them and thats when they become really dangerous..
This comment is hidden. Click here to view.
The bolt consist of the fact the outside k**b runs empty without actually opening the door.
The commentary is rather unhinged, like "irresponsible, see Madeline McCann" about a 15y old! By 16 they're allowed to drive i.e. two lethal tonnes of high-speed steel. At 12 you can travel across the country unsupervised.
IKR? And the parents weren't out drinking or partying, they were all at the beach. Maybe she got tired of the sun, and wanted to come back and take a shower before dinner. And all those comments about don't open the door. She only did so, whilst the deadbolt was on.
Nope. In her own words, she opened the door to see who it was, THEN put the deadbolt on. ..."“My main thought was holy s*** I’m in a towel right now and someone is about to break in and get me. So the door opens a crack, and I just slammed it back shut and put the deadbolt on.”
No, you misunderstood. It was the guy who opened the door, so she slammed in it to shut him out, then put the deadbolt on. Only afterwards, when the guy claimed he's there to fix the door, it was her opening it a bit to see the person outside, but with the deadbolt on. She was standing there in the room after coming out of the shower watching the door opening, but it wasn't her.
and the dog fighting thing? Sounds like something an idiotic teenage would think sounds awesome and any adult would just wonder what the hell is wrong with you.
Thank you Marcellus... I was thinking the same thing. 15 year olds stay by themselves, baby sit other children, can drive alone in one year and would NOT be happy if they were treated like a toddler. That's ridiculous.
Run immediately??? Where? If your 6 stories up and someone is trying to break into your room, where the hell are you gonna run to? Out the window? Yeah, ok. Let me just death dive out the window real quick and then I'm safe. She did a smart move though by calling for a parent.
Thank you I was thinking the same thing. And almost all hotels now the windows don't open, so where in the hell are you supposed to go? lol
I think she was stitching (adding onto) the original post (the one with the contraption). Two videos filmed by different people made into one
Yes, running won't be of much use in this situation. My advice would be, grab a chair if there is one and jam that door, then immediately call hotel security. If the threat escalates, make a LOOOOT of noise, scream... bang things against walls and floors, be really loud... this will alert people in your vicinity and more likely than not someone will come see why you're being so annoying and help you out or scare them away.
In a situation like that, the red "in case of fire break glass" box on the wall suddenly becomes your new best friend!
Geoff C. "the red "in case of fire break glass" box on the wall" is OUTSIDE in the hallway so how is that going to help or be your "new best friend?" For a threat in the hallway it's a good idea if the fire extinguisher *might* be able help if it's near to you and not the abuser... but otherwise, ???
Run back to the bathroom.
Cursed: "Run back to the bathroom" and do what? If they broke into the main door, what's going to stop them from breaking through the bathroom door?
Yes, and lock the door and hopefully the phone cord will reach the bathroom and you can grab the phone and make a call from the bathroom.
I've never seen a hotel phone with cord that is usually right next to the bed "reach into the bathroom."
or the kitchen, and grab a knife
Assuming you have a kitchen and a knife in your hotel.
probably not the best idea. They're likely expecting a struggle.
true, but if you are armed, you can't fight at your full power when you are only covered by a towel, either fight naked, Or fight lazily to just keep the towel up.
I never had a normal hotel room with a "kitchen and a knife."
Yup, so dumb “We’ve got the VERY BEST of advice for you when you’ve never seen one of these things before (have you!!). Freak n run out the 2nd or 3rd hotel room door.” As dumb as using TikTok - let China steal all your data/imagery, etc immediately.