Rebecca Hose woke to find an unknown man standing beside her bed. Photo / Andrew Warner
Rebecca Hose woke to find an unknown man standing beside her bed. Photo / Andrew Warner
Kelly Makiha
When Rebecca Hose woke to find an unknown man standing just centimetres away from her bed, she let out a "bloodcurdling scream".
She was in her bed in her Tarewa Pl home in Rotorua just after midnight a month ago but has been prompted to speak outabout it after a woman running in Puarenga Park experienced a frightening stalker incident on Monday afternoon.
Hose said the description of the man sounded similar and the runner's courage to speak out to the Rotorua Daily Post prompted her to tell her story, too.
The runner, who only wanted to be known as Rach, was followed through the track by a tall, slim Polynesian or Māori man on a bike but she scrambled through trees and bush on to Te Ngae Rd to get help from army personnel working at Sudima Hotel. Police are still looking for the man, who was photographed following Rach by a member of the public who saw the incident unfold.
A stalker on a bike follows a runner from Puarenga Park to Sudima Hotel. This photo was taken by a member of the public who witnessed the runner's ordeal. Photo / Supplied
Hose's terrifying ordeal happened on August 22 just after midnight. As she drifted off to sleep she remembered hearing her phone "ding". About 10 minutes later she woke and decided to roll over and check her phone.
When she did, she saw a tall, slim man standing right beside her bed.
She said her body froze but she let out what she described as a "blood-curdling scream".
Oddly, the man didn't move. Hose said she couldn't move but managed to find her voice again and this time screamed for her adult son sleeping in a nearby bedroom.
Only then did the man turn and walk out of her bedroom.
She described his actions as "brazen" and "sick".
Police were there within minutes and dogs tracked a scent to the Aquatic Centre carpark near the rear of Hose's property.
A police spokeswoman said they attended and the dog unit made area inquiries but the man wasn't found. She said the investigation was ongoing and no arrests had been made.
Rebecca Hose woke to find an unknown man standing beside her bed. Photo / Andrew Warner
Hose said it was not known how he got inside because there was no forced entry.
Nothing had been taken and her bag with money inside was left on the kitchen table.
She said she wanted people to know what happened as she didn't want it to happen to another woman.
Hose said she didn't get a good look at the man's face and couldn't tell whether, like Rach's stalker, the man had a biggish moustache. However, she said her offender was also tall and slim.
"I read about Rach's one and the hairs on the back of my neck stood up because it sounded like the same person."
She said even if it wasn't the same person, it was good to make people aware.
"They might not be stopped the next time."
Rebecca Hose woke to find an unknown man standing beside her bed. Photo / Andrew Warner
Hose said she had been due to move out of her Tarewa Pl home two weeks after the man appeared in her house but her landlord allowed her to leave immediately because she was too afraid to stay there.
Despite now living in a different area, she was still finding it hard to sleep.
"When I close my eyes, all I can see is this man standing there."
She was getting counselling to try and get over what happened but feared it could be a while before she felt safe in her home again.
She said she was glad to be out of the Tarewa Pl area though as there had been a lot of crime and disorder in the area as a result of people moving into motel and backpacker accommodation for emergency housing.
"Rotorua is my hometown and to see it going downhill like this is horrible."
