"We don’t know this woman:" Idaho couple shocked to find stranger living in their home



IDAHO -- An Idaho couple was stunned when they learned that a stranger had suddenly moved into their home.

Renea and Brian Prindle moved out of their home in December 2015 and are in the process of selling it.

They have continually driven by the home and were shocked when something changed.

“The first thing we noticed was a vehicle in our driveway. Our outside lights were on. Our inside lights were on. There were sheets covering up the windows. There were kids running in and out of the house," Renea Prindle said.

The couple soon met a woman who said she was renting the house from a man named Daniel Brink, and even showed them a lease.

The address listed for Daniel Brink was found to match the address for the Portland Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter.

Immediately, the couple called police.

“We told the cops, ‘we don’t know this woman. Our home is not for rent. Our signatures are not on the lease agreement. We don’t have a contract with this woman and she’s trespassing,'” Prindle told KIVI.

Officers looked over the woman’s lease and said she had every right to stay there.

“The cop said we had to respect her privacy and we weren’t allowed to go into our home. We couldn’t get past the front door. We were standing in the doorway but we weren’t allowed in, and we could smell the cigarette smoke. It was horrible. We could smell marijuana, and we weren’t allowed to search our property. We asked the police if they would search our property, and they said they couldn’t," Prindle said.

The couple says they made an agreement with the woman that she would find another place to live by a certain date. When that date came and went, they changed the locks.

They said the woman then called the police, who told her that she had every right to break a window to get back inside the house.

The Nampa Police Department told KIVI this is a civil matter, so they are not investigating.

"Someone broke into our house, changed our locks and is living there. This is a criminal matter!  It's not a civil matter! We've basically been told that there is no section of the law that exists for this scenario. We've been forced to take on the role as landlord and we've been forced to move forward as if we were landlords," Prindle said.