Ashly Guardino, a resident of Lake Elsinore, California, was startled by an unexpected sight in her home last Saturday. She was awakened by strange noises, which she initially attributed to her landlord making repairs on the roof. However, she was shocked to discover an arm reaching out from the crawl space beneath her house.
Guardino, a professional house cleaner, shared her unsettling experience on TikTok, where she revealed that a man had been secretly living under her house for months. The video, which showed police officers removing a shirtless man from the small opening at the base of her house, has garnered over 6.2 million views.
This incident is part of a growing trend where individuals secretly inhabit someone else’s property without their knowledge. This phenomenon is becoming increasingly concerning for law enforcement agencies, particularly in areas with housing shortages and favorable weather conditions.
Guardino and her partner had been hearing strange noises around their house for some time but had dismissed them. In a series of follow-up videos, Guardino revealed more about the man who had been living under her house. He was a 26-year-old parolee who had previously set his ex-partner’s house on fire and had a history of drug addiction and seeking shelter under other people’s homes.
After his release from prison, the man had initially lived under a house across the street from Guardino’s. However, after being discovered by the owners, he was sent back to jail. Upon his release, he returned to the neighborhood and took up residence under Guardino’s house.
Guardino estimated that the man had been living under her house for at least three months. She had noticed that the screen covering the crawl space’s access point had been removed several times, but she assumed it was due to her pets.
Before the police arrived, Guardino confronted the man, demanding that he leave her property. Initially, the police were skeptical about the presence of a man living under the house. However, once they spotted him, they took immediate action. After a 30-minute standoff, the man was arrested.