It’s a story worthy of a horror film. A 93-year-old Californian woman was worried about hearing noises below her home after dark when it was quiet. She complained about it regularly to her family.
“It was usually late at night, and we just thought there were animals under the house,” said Ricardo Silva, his son-in-law. “Maybe rats,” But the poison installed in the house didn’t change anything. Ricardo was beginning to fear that his mother-in-law was starting to suffer from dementia.
On Thursday evening, the noises became more intense, sounding like banging. “It was kind of like, as my mother-in-law was walking, someone was banging under the house,” Silva said.
Refugee in the crawl space
Family members at the home immediately called police, and when officers arrived, they found a naked man in the crawl space under the house.
Isaac Betancourt, 27, took refuge there by passing through one of the three entrances. The crawl space was only about two feet high. There was always a trapdoor in front, which he carefully detached and placed back behind him. No one could be suspicious.
To avoid getting caught, he mainly went out when it was dark. During the day, he stayed in the crawl space. Naked, despite the cold.
Los Angeles police said they spent hours trying to get the man out before having to resort to tear gas, causing huge unrest in the neighborhood.
“He refused to leave. He was not afraid of dogs and the first two attempts at gas failed to get him out,” Silva said.
Authorities don’t know how long the man was under the house, but the family suspects he was there for up to six months. “It’s a weird thing, but it’s probably not uncommon, you know, these days people are looking for shelter,” Silva said.
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