A Palo Alto woman woke up on Thursday morning to find her Midtown neighborhood home had been burglarized overnight, police said.

The burglary happened in the 2600 block of Cowper Street, and was reported to the city's emergency dispatcher center around 11:15 a.m. on Feb. 9, according to a police press release.

The woman, who's in her 80s, went to bed around 10 p.m. on Wednesday and woke up at about 8 a.m. Thursday, when she discovered that her cellphone, tablet computer and purse had been stolen. Investigators found pry marks at the front door, which is a sign that whoever burglarized the residence may have used force to gain entry, police said.

A houseguest, a woman in her 20s, was also asleep at the residence during the burglary, according police. As of Thursday evening, police hadn't released surveillance footage or any information on the burglar or burglars.

Home burglaries in which the residents are home rarely happen in the city, according to police. The last reported incident was in November, when a Ventura neighborhood resident found a man who allegedly broke into her home, stole a vacuum cleaner and fled. He was arrested about two hours later.

The Police Department noted that most home burglaries take place during the daytime hours when trespassers have a lower chance of facing residents, who are typically away from the property. The public is advised to lock side yard gates, secure all windows and doors during the overnight hours and leave a spare house key with a trusted neighbor instead of placing it outside of their home. More crime prevention tips can be found at cityofpaloalto.org.

Anyone with information about the overnight burglary is asked to call the department's 24-hour dispatch center at 650-329-2413. Anonymous tips can be emailed to [email protected] or sent by text message or voicemail to 650-383-8984.