LEWISTON – An elderly couple jumped from a bedroom window Wednesday night after confronting an armed intruder inside their Stevens Street home.

Police with guns drawn surrounded the house after the couple fled to a neighbor’s home to report the break-in. After an hour, police in protective armor stormed inside the house in a search for the suspect. None was found.

The incident unfolded about 9 p.m. when the man and woman, both in their 70s, called police to report a masked man with a gun had threatened them inside their home.

The couple told investigators the suspect was carrying a revolver as he ordered them to a back bedroom, where they were told to remain.

Instead, the couple opened a window and jumped roughly eight feet to the lawn of their home. They then crept around a garage and ran across the street to safety.

The first officers to arrive at the scene surrounded the house while calling for backup. More than a dozen officers went to the scene, with several of them suiting up in protective helmets and bulletproof vests.

Police Officer Tom Murphy spoke with the couple and learned the layout of their home. While Lewiston police planned their entry into the house, Auburn police handled routine complaints across the rest of the city.

Investigators said the couple had just returned from a shopping trip at Wal-Mart when they encountered the burglar in the living room of their home. It was unclear whether the suspect entered the home while the couple was out or if he sneaked in shortly after they returned.

“He ordered them to go into a room and told them not to come out,” said police Sgt. Michael Whalen. “Instead, they jumped out the window, ran to a neighbor’s house and called us immediately.”

The couple were not hurt when they jumped to the ground. However, police said the woman was recently released from a hospital and was without her medication as the ordeal unfolded.

A half-dozen police officers entered the house about 10:30 p.m., aiming guns as they moved from room to room in a search for the suspect.

Police said they found few signs that the house had been ransacked. It remained unclear late Wednesday if anything had been taken. Investigators believe the suspect may have fled from the house after learning the couple had escaped.

An officer with a police dog entered the home shortly after others had cleared, to ensure that the suspect was not hiding where the officers had not searched.

Shortly after police determined the house was empty, a woman who lives next door reported that her home was unlocked and she feared the burglar might be hiding there. Police searched her home but did not find anybody.

By 11 p.m., police Detectives Jim Theiss and Brian O’Malley were at the home, searching for fingerprints or other evidence. Other officers were on the lookout for the suspect in other areas of the neighborhood.

The suspect was described as a young man or a teenager who was wearing a mask and carrying a handgun. Anyone with information about the break-in is asked to call police.