Oamaru police are searching for a man discovered burgling a Kaik Rd property north of Oamaru on Thursday.
Police were called to the rural property about 11.30am after a woman confronted the alleged offender, who had gained entry to her home.
It is believed a wallet was the only item stolen after the man forced his way into the locked house.
Senior Constable Carl Pedersen, of Oamaru, said the man ran off after the woman, the only occupant in the house, yelled at him to leave.
A subsequent search of the area failed to find the man.
"Unfortunately, we didn’t have dogs available and were unable to locate him," Snr Const Pedersen said.
An investigation into the burglary was continuing, he said.
"We are making inquiries. We don’t know who it is, but we have got lines of inquiry we are following and waiting to see how they go."
Police were also waiting on the results of a forensic examination, he said.
Snr Constable Pedersen said it was difficult to say if the burglary was an isolated incident, as it was often some time before it was noticed property was missing in rural areas.
"Sometimes you find with these situations in a rural area that you think it’s a one-off and then people discover things have happened.
"It’s probably just a reminder for people in a rural location, even if they are relatively isolated, to be security conscious and not leave keys in vehicles and that sort of stuff."
