Went on vacation – and returned to a nightmare: "A stranger took over our home" | Watch

Bill and Ilim Kim, a 28-year-old couple living in Long Island City, Queens, discovered during their vacation that a stranger was inside their apartment, walking between rooms, pouring herself a drink, and relaxing on the sofa as if it were her own home, it was reported yesterday (Tuesday) in local media.

Ilim described the moment as "panic, panic, panic," and Bill said:

"I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. We can't help but wonder what she would have done if we hadn't caught her on camera."

Shortly thereafter, the woman noticed the security camera, approached it, and without hesitation, tore it from its place. "If we didn't have a camera, would she have just stayed there?" Bill wondered. "It was almost 11 p.m. Would she have slept in our bed?"

The couple, who were on the last night of their vacation, began calling the police and friends in an attempt to handle the incident remotely; the officers even initially thought the two were pranking them and that it could not be a real case.

Two of their friends arrived at the building even before the police. One of them approached the apartment and confronted the woman, who was asked to leave and indeed did so. However, a few minutes later she returned to the scene, and using a set of keys she had in her possession, opened the door and entered again, but was removed by the police.

Later, the building management informed the tenants that the woman had posed as the couple's dog walker, and that a receptionist in the building had allowed her to go up to their apartment. According to the "New York Post," following the incident, the employee was removed from his position at the building, and the management announced that security measures at the site would be strengthened.