Mom texts 911 as escaped inmate hides from deputies in her home

HERNANDO COUNTY, Fla. -- (WPTV) -- A Florida woman is thankful to be alive after an escaped inmate broke into her home.

"I woke up to him standing over my bed asking me to hide him," says an exasperated Roxanne Vanderveer, whose morning began with an escaped inmate breaking into her home demanding help.

The suspect Joshua Holmes had ran off from a work detail at a local landfill the day before and had the Hernando County Sheriff's Office deputies hot on his tail in the town of Masaryktown.

"I look out my window I see cops going up and down the street. I'm scared, I'm thinking of my kids," said the mother of two.

Vanderveer says Holmes appeared scared and frantic as he hid from deputies inside her home. Afraid of how Homes might react if she tried to get the attention of the deputies, she texted 911.

"Joshua Holmes is in my house. I'm afraid to call I have two small children in my house with me," wrote Vanderveer.

She said she knew Holmes personally from growing up in the community, but had lost touch with him over the years.