BAYTOWN – Baytown police are searching for intruders who broke into a woman's home and released dozens of her birds from their cages.
Maria Munoz, 80, says she kept 30 parakeets and six cockatiels in cages in her shed behind her house on Cherry Street.
She had been raising some of the birds for more than 40 years.
On Sunday around 3 a.m. Munoz says her neighbor heard noises outside.
The neighbor looked out the window and saw a man and woman walking.
However, it wasn't until later Sunday afternoon that Munoz and her daughter Hortencia Rubalcaba, realized someone had broken into their property.
Rubalcaba says someone broke into the shed, opened the cages and released all of the birds.
With the help of neighbors, the mother and daughter spotted three of the birds in nearby trees and lured them back into their cages, but the rest of the birds, worth about $800, are still missing.
"She knows she's not going to get them back," said Rubalcaba.
Munoz said the birds are irreplaceable members of her family.
Rubalcaba said she will do whatever she can to bring a smile to her mother's face again.
"We are going to try to buy some birds for her," said Rubalcaba.
Investigators said if the suspects are found, they could face criminal mischief charges.
If you know anything about the crime call Baytown police.