Man Who Had Been Living in Attic Falls Through Ceiling of Denver Restaurant
A man who had been secretly living in the rafters above a Denver-area restaurant fell through the ceiling Tuesday night. He was trapped in a wall space, according to police.
The Denver Police Department received a call around 11 p.m. reporting that a man had fallen through the ceiling at the Yard House, a local eatery. When firefighters arrived at the location, they could see the man walking through a space for the water pipes and HVAC system, according to James Ballinger with the Denver Police Department.
The man disappeared from the authorities' view and somehow managed to break one of the water pipes. This caused massive flooding inside the restaurant and the neighboring Sheraton Hotel, Ballinger said.
Police officers searched through the ceilings but couldn't find the man anywhere. However, they said it appeared he had been staying up there for a while, Ballinger said to the local ABC affiliate, 7NEWS. The area was littered with debris like bottle caps from alcoholic beverages nearby.
Then officers heard some strange sounds.
"There was moaning coming from one of the walls to the right of the front doors," Ballinger said.
When rescue crews removed one of the Yard House's booth seats, they could see the man's feet behind the wall. Fire crews then used a chainsaw to cut an opening to remove the man out of the wall.
The man, who's name has not been released if identified, was found wearing only jeans and was taken to Denver Health with unknown injuries, according to Ballinger. 7NEWS reporter Eric Luhper estimated that the man fell about 20 feet when he came down through the ceiling.
It is unclear exactly how the man was got into the ceiling space, how long the man was living up in the rafters and for what reasons.
There is now significant water damage to the restaurant and the hotel next door.
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