Leaving a child alone can be a stressful experience for any parent, and when doing so, they want to make sure that they're leaving their most precious treasure in capable hands. So when Yesenia Barragan had no choice but to go away and leave her 4-year-olf behind for a while, she put her trust in her young teenage sister. This day will prove to be one of the scariest days of the three girls' lives, as what unfolded shortly following Yesenia's departure would shake them to the core, and will make you carefully choose the people that will take care of your existing or future children. Yesenia Barragan lives in Montclair, California, surrounded by family and friends. Mother to a 4-year-old daughter, she holds down a full-time job, and simply lives a normal life in the suburbs like a hundred thousand other people. But normal doesn't always equal easy, and juggling a career and motherhood has always been a complicated scenario. Yesenia tried her best, as any mother does, but there were times when she was forced to do things she wasn't comfortable with to keep both her child and her job safe. Yesenia's daughter Zoyee had recently been ill, and Yesenia had been taking time off to take care of her baby. She was lucky enough to work for a company that could accommodate such matters, but felt that she had pushed their flexibility about as far as she could. Then came the last straw. There was a business meeting scheduled that Yesenia was expected to attend, however, it was held out of town. The urgency of the meeting has made her worry about what could she do, and who would take care of Zoyee while she was away. Yesenia went to consult with her mother Marie, thinking that she could help her make a decision. As Marie was concerned, the answer was clear - her younger daughter, Yesenia's sister Savannah, was ready to take on a responsibility like this. But Yesenia wasn't convinced. Savannah was just 14, and although she loved her sister and knew that she was reliable, Yesenia was worried that she hadn't looked after Zoyee before, and she would be so far away. However, Yesenia's options were limited, and Savannah did have experience in babysitting. Savannah Jones loved her sister and her little niece as much as they loved her, but she never expected that Yesenia would agree to let her babysit Zoyee when she was still so young herself. It was a big responsibility for her to take on. That being said, Savannah's surprise upon hearing that her big sister trusted her enough to take care of her 4-year-old niece is quite understandable. She had a chance to prove how grown-up she could be to her entire family, and so she hoped that she could be able to live up to the task ahead of her. The big day arrived, and Marie and Savannah made the drive over to Yesenia's house. Savannah waved happily back at her mom as she went to the door, but to Marie, something felt out of place. It was a feeling that she couldn't shake. Marie spent enough time with her eldest daughter to be familiar with her neighborhood, and there was a car parked over the road that she didn't recognize. Maybe it was just a neighbor's new car, she thought, but the car's unfamiliarity and its strange, tinted windows made her feel very uneasy. Once Savannah was in the house, Yesenia went over all the procedures with her one more time. Thought already Savannah knew it well, Yesenia gave her the tour of the house, but this time pointing out potential hazards and showing her where she could find things that she might need in her new role. Once she had gone over the routine one last time, Yesenia bent down to give her daughter Zoyee a final kiss and a hug. She handed Savannah her list of emergency numbers, then left the house, too worried to notice anything amiss. Now the two were alone in Zoyee's family home. Savannah and the little girl went back into the lounge, and Savannah asked her niece to show her all of her toys. Zoyee had a toy box in there, and she immediately started to contentedly pull out each toy and present it to her aunt. When Zoyee ran out of toys, Savannah suggested watching a film, and so the pair snuggled up together on the sofa to choose a Disney movie. They decided on Frozen and set the film playing. Frozen was in full swing, and the two girls were happily singing along when suddenly, there was a knock on the front door. Savannah glanced at the clock. It was 3:30 pm, she had no clue as to who could it be. Turning the TV off, she walked slowly to the door. Yesenia was scheduled to be out of town for days, so no one should be looking for her here. Maybe it was a late delivery? Catching her breath, Savannah peered through the peephole of the door. All Savannah saw was the slightly distorted silhouette of a man in a hat. She couldn't make out his features, but there was something distinctly off about his demeanor. He just didn't look or act like a salesman. He wasn't holding up any credentials or wearing a recognizable uniform, so Savannah knew that he couldn't be any kind of official. So what was he doing at her door? She took some steps back down the hall, hoping that the menacing figure would turn and leave. As Savannah stood silent in the middle of the hallway, the man outside continued to knock. The minutes stretched out and still, he wouldn't go away. Just as she was reaching a screaming point, the knocking suddenly stopped. Savannah let out an explosive breath. At last! But then, he started again. And this time, it was worse. The unwanted visitor started rattling the doorknob as he carried on, now thumping the door hard rather than knocking with any semblance of politeness. Savannah's danger sensors went from orange to a bright flashing red. This man wanted to get into the house, and there was nothing that she could do to stop him if he was determined. The two young girls were trapped. She dashed back into the lounge and swept Zoyee up into her arms. For a split second, she stood racked with indecision as she tried to think faster than she had ever thought before. Then, instinct kicked in, and Savannah ran for the master bedroom. The banging on the front door carried on as Savannah, carrying Zoyee, reached the master bedroom, and desperately looked around, trying to force herself to calm down and think rationally. Where could they hide? Could they lock the door? Savannah was quick to realize that the door was useless since the key wasn't in the lock, and she had no idea where to find it, but then she remembered there was another door - the en-suite bathroom. She headed straight to it, slamming it behind her and turning the lock just as the sounds from outside changed for the worse. As the two girls entered the bathroom, the visitor decided that nobody was going to let him into the house, and took matters into his own hands. With one last mighty blow, he broke through the front door. The sound of splintering wood filled the house as Savannah bent over her niece, trying to keep the tremble out of her voice as she gently told the preschooler that they were going to play a game, and Zoyee needed to be as quiet as a mouse to win. The man was searching the house, making no attempt to be quiet. Savannah could hear his heavy footsteps as he made his way toward the master bedroom. The house fell silent as the man surveyed the room. Savannah whispered to Zoyee to hide behind the toilet. She herself crouched in front of her 4-year-old niece, trying to shield her from the horror that Savannah was sure was about to happen. No matter what, she would protect the little girl from harm.The two girls stayed, frozen in their huddled positions, ears straining for the smallest sound. Savannah knew that they couldn't stay there, undiscovered, forever. The man would find them sooner or later. But they were trapped in a dead-end. There was no escape possible for Savannah and her niece. Frantically, she tried to think of a solution. She instinctively folded herself even smaller as she heard a sound from the other side of the door. In doing so, she felt something pressing against her thigh. Savannah's hand flew to her pocket, and she stared dumbly at the object she pulled out. Contemplating how could she have forgotten about it, and with shaking fingers, she swiped open the phone and navigated to her messages app. She forced her fingers to obey her and started to type in a message to her mother. She had hit the send button before she realized that her autocorrect had rendered her text meaningless. She had inadvertently sent, "I'm baby." Frustrated, Savannah took a deep breath and tried again. “He is inside mom he’s gonna here me,” she managed on her second attempt. Now all she could do was wait. The minutes seemed like hours as the pair listened to the man roaming the house. Maria got her daughter's text and knew immediately that something had to be done, and right now. But she didn't live close enough to get there on time, and emergency services would also probably take too long to arrive. As Maria was trying to figure out how to save her daughter and granddaughter, the two girls were still hiding in the master bathroom, listening to the invader open cupboards and rummaging through drawers. He was ransacking the place. “I kept staring at the door and hoping he wouldn’t try to open it,” Savannah would tell others after the ordeal. She didn't know how long she crouched there, soothing her frightened niece, waiting for it all to end, one way or another. Then, her phone buzzed. Maria had texted Savannah back, and it was good news. She had called one of Yesenia's neighbors, and they were on their way over. Sure enough, very soon after, Savannah heard a new sound in her sister's house: a voice. The new voice filled the house and the intruder panicked. He sprinted past the neighbor, pushing him out of his path to the front door - the girls were safe, and it wasn't long before the police arrived to survey the damage. The police inspection revealed that the invader had only actually ransacked two rooms in the house. Officers from the Montclair police department searched the house and area extensively, even using a member of the K-9 squad, but it seemed that the man had made a clean getaway. The dogs had no problem picking up the man's scent in the house, they just couldn't follow it to fruition. He had been so careless in the house that it seemed amazing that he had simply disappeared. Then, Savannah's sister and Zoyee's mom Yesenia arrived on the scene with her mother, Marie. The pair were so proud of how Savannah had handled the situation. “She was very smart and brave,” said Yesenia. “She did everything right.” Savannah, while grateful that her family approved of her actions, was understandably still worried about the situation. After all, the man had broken into a house that he knew was occupied. Now he was roaming about, uncaught and able to carry on his evil endeavors. What happened to Savannah Jones and her 4-year-old niece Zoyee on that fateful day will remain with them, and Savannah is doing what she can to process the event, and her family is helping her to deal with the emotions still flooding her. “Relief," she said to a local news station, explaining how she felt: “Relief, and then knowing that he’s still out there, I don’t know, scary.” Hopefully, it won't be long until the police find the intruder. Savannah has been helping investigations by giving the most detailed description she could. The investigation into the break-in at Yesenia's is ongoing, as is the search for the perpetrator. The Montclair police are sure that he won't be trying to finish the job there, however. Savannah scared him off well and proper. They have been quick to praise the young girl's actions during that difficult situation. When babysitting, keep your phone on you, never try to engage a person invading your charge's home, and keep calm. A level head is the best weapon you have to keep you and your charges safe. Savannah's level-headedness and maturity prevented what could have been a real tragedy, However, these things don't always end so well.