Wine Bottle, Daughter's 'Superhuman Strength' Thwart Burglar at Mom's Home

OAK FOREST, IL — Somewhere out there is a burglar with a sore head after an encounter with a homeowner's daughter who caught him mid-act.

Gladys Soppet, 81, had just arrived back at her home in the 5500 block of 163rd Street around 9 p.m. June 25 when her daughter entered the home ahead of her and heard something near the back of the house.

Armed with a bottle of wine, Soppet's 62-year-old daughter tip-toed to the source of the sound and found a man sifting through her mother's closet and drawers. The burglary interrupted, the man tried to flee and the two scuffled. The daughter swung the bottle, hitting him in the forehead. He threw her against the wall, and she tore his shirt. She hit him again with the bottle, this time in the back of the head, before he took off running from the house.

Oh, and in the process he dropped the tote bag of jewelry he had swiped.

He fled for the woods. Police descended on the area, chasing him with K9 and helicopter units. He was not located.

"I don't think he was a professional," Soppet told Patch,"because if he was, I think he would have hit her.

"She isn't that big, she's a little thing! I do think you get superhuman strength in those moments."

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Soppet praised the police for their quick response, noting "they were here in a flash."

The encounter has left her slightly nervous.

"I've never been afraid in my life, but now I have my kids come in with me," Soppet said.

The suspect is described as a tall, thin, white male, about 20 years old. Police believe he broke in through a sliding glass door.

"I hope he got poison ivy," Soppet chided. "There' s plenty of poison ivy in those woods.

"And I know he has a couple of good bumps on his head, because it was a full bottle of wine. And it didn't break!"