After sharing her account of an unsettling encounter she had with a hotel intruder at age 15, a 19-year old girl became viral. A life hack that her stepdad taught her was the key to her success.
A 19-year old girl, four years after narrowly escaping a confrontation with hotel intruders is now sharing her ordeal in the hope that others will learn from it.
Josie Bowers and TikTok: Canada reprinted the experience which happened during her stay at the Ocean City Hilton in Maryland when she was 15.
TikToker shared a safety tip that saved her teenage life.
Bowers, who was visiting the hotel with her family on vacation, was alone in the room on that fateful morning while the rest were at the beaches.
After taking a bath in the shower, she noticed a thin wire of metal entering the bathroom through the crack in the bottom of her door.
Comment on a TikTok posting.
She watched in stupefaction as the wire with a hook at its tip made its way up towards the handle of the door. Finally, it hooked the handle and pulled down on the door handle, causing it to fall.
Bowers was able to quickly get to work before the intruders could open the door and enter the room.
The intruders were stopped as soon as she secured the lock. Pretended to be part of the hotel’s maintenance team, who came around to fix the lock. She described how they had told her that the keycard was damaged and that they would fix it, but she needed access to the room in order to do so.
Bowers was filled with doubt and opened the door to get a glimpse at the men. However, they were wearing jeans and T-shirts which is far from the uniforms of the employees.
Comment on a TikTok posting.
The teenager noticed that the intruders were determinedly to break in and took the initiative to implement a tip from her stepdad. She recalled this is:
“I yelled, ‘Hey dad, there’s someone here to fix the door.’ As soon as they thought I wasn’t alone, and potentially my dad was there, they ran, they were gone.”
That was how Bowers’ stepdad’s advice, to never let people know she was alone, saved her life. The teenager accompanied her video account of the incident with a clip of a man breaking into an apartment using the method the intruders used four years ago.
She appears in the last part of the TikTok Video detailed explanationher reason for sharing the experience with the world, saying she wanted to teach people about it. She also shared some important advice, encouraging people to use deadbolts or door stoppers.
Comment on a TikTok posting.
The video, which was made up of four parts, received millions of views. Many netizens responded to the post. Many praised her for responding quickly, while others criticised her inaction. TikToker offer this is:
“I would have grabbed that thing and ripped it from under the door and slammed the door on his hands.”
Many users were puzzled as to why the intruders needed the wire-lie equipment while the door could be opened easily by the handle.
Bowers responded with a video update explaining that the Hilton Hotel doors only open from the inside when they are locked. Many users praised Bowers for her smart thinking in the face of danger.
A TikToker reminded the teenage that even though she did not have a cellphone service at the time, emergency calls still went through. It’s a useful safety tip that may come in handy in future.