HOPEWELL, Va. — Some people living in a Virginia community say they're taking precautions after learning a man may have been living underneath their neighbor's home for weeks.
A neighbor spotted the man crawling out of the crawl space under Kasey Falls' home off Mesa Drive in Hopewell earlier this month.
"The police are showing up to my house, saying that someone drove by and saw a man get out of my crawl space with a pillow," Falls said. "It is scary. He was just living there and I didn't know."
The man, according to a 911 call placed on Nov. 5, was spotted carrying a pillow and backpack.
Upon learning the unsettling news, Falls says some things started to make sense, like cigarette butts found on the property over the last two to three weeks and some strange noises at night.
"The four-year-old woke up one night and heard noises, ran to my bedroom," Falls said.
Neighbors expressed both confusion and concern.
"It was a little startling," neighbor Melissa Taylor said. "I monitor my Ring [cameras], actually re-located one of them. I'm getting another one soon."
While there are no city-run homeless shelters in Hopewell, the city's department of social services does work with Commonwealth Catholic Charities to help those in need.
"In certain cases, placing individuals in hotels, and to providing case management while they were in the hotels, to identify their problems and towards something more permanent for them," said Ray Spicer, Director Hopewell Dept. of Social Services.
To reach the Hopewell Department of Social Services, call 804-541-2330.
This story was originally published by Wayne Covil at WTVR.
