Mystery man living in grocery store ceiling

AUBURN, Wash. (KING) — Police in Auburn, Washington have released surveillance video of a suspect they believe has been living in the rafters of a grocery store for weeks, emerging only to steal from the store, then returning to a hiding place somewhere above the store.

Auburn Police Commander Mike Hirman says video shows a person dressed in black, wearing a face mask, and walking the aisles of the Haggen Northwest Fresh Market, while carrying a black bag filled with thousands of dollars in cigarettes stolen from the store.

Hirman says the suspect first came to their attention on Christmas Day when police were called about what they thought was a burglary at the store. Officers found evidence that someone had accessed a vent in the roof of the store, including some jackets, gloves, tools and debris. Later, police discovered a length of rope near the entry point.

It wasn’t until employees reported hearing footsteps overhead in the store and seeing a man’s legs dangling from the ceiling of a storage closet that police determined the suspect was squatting in the store.

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