Colorado Springs woman finds man living in her crawlspace – now she’s warning neighbors

By McKenzie Stafford, KRDO

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) - Last Thursday, a Colorado Springs woman found what she thought was unimaginable. A man had been living in her crawlspace beneath her home for at least two days, she tells KRDO13.

Grace Abbett said it all started when she and her husband heard a coughing noise. Neither of them had coughed, however, due to the proximity to their neighbor's residences, they brushed it off. Then the couple's dog started to get suspicious.

"Our dog started randomly growling at our vents," explained Abbett.

She says her husband went outside to check but didn't find anything out of the ordinary. It wasn't until later when her husband had left that Abbett noticed something out of place.

"I went to go take the trash out, and I saw footprints coming from, the cellar door, like the crawlspace door that's outside. And I was like, that's not my husband because he didn't go out there. So I called and made sure. And then I called the police because I had a bad feeling," recounted Abbett.

Abbett tells KRDO13 that the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD) responded to her call. She says officers checked out the crawlspace and could tell someone had been there, finding items inside, but the person was gone. Abbett says CSPD told her to give them a call if the person came back, which they did later that evening. She said the experience was overall unnerving.

"I was home alone, and it just felt very like, you know, vulnerable, like someone was in my space. They could be there now. And I'm by myself, and I don't like this," shared Abbett, "I was just scared and a little vulnerable."

Abbett's ring camera captured the moment CSPD returned to her home to apprehend the man. The video shows officers escorting the man off of her property. Colorado Springs Police confirmed to KRDO13 that the man received a trespassing warning, meaning if he returned to the address, he would be charged with trespassing. CSPD added he was arrested for an outstanding warrant, although they could not confirm the nature of that warrant. The man was booked into El Paso County Jail. KRDO13 did ask for the man's name, however, as of Sunday night, CSPD says they are unable to share that information.

Abbett says she's grateful for their response.

"I just want to thank the officers that came out because, honestly, they were so communicative. They told me everything that was happening. They gave me their work number, so that way I could call them directly. So I didn't have to go through the whole 911 process again. And, they just let me know what was happening. Then they came back and told me what happened. So it was just like, really great to have, you know, some great officers out there," explained Abbett.

Now she's getting the word out to others in Colorado Springs; lock your homes and anything that can be accessed from the outside.

"Make sure you get locks for this, you know, this door (pointing to her crawlspace) and then that gate. Make sure you keep up with the camera and lock your garage and all that stuff. So, just reiterating that" Abbett shared some of the suggestions she received from CSPD.

CSPD has a unit dedicated to going to your home or business for free to evaluate areas that may be accessible for a criminal. Then they make suggestions to help better secure your property.