A Portland, OR man has expressed his horror after discovering a boarder had been living in the basement of his apartment building for weeks after experiencing a series of “strange events” at the property.
Wyatt Lanford, 28, first spoke about the shocking discovery in a now-viral TikTok video, in which he explained what happened to the resident after he heard strange noises coming from the lower levels of his building and noticed that pieces of clothes and packages had started to disappear.
In the clip, Lanford admits that he always thought squatters’ stories were nothing more than “urban legends,” until he moved to Portland from Flagstaff, AZ and experienced the phenomenon firsthand.
“I don’t live in the greatest area, but I don’t live in the worst area,” he explains. His apartment is “beautiful” as well as affordable.
“We moved in July and there have been no incidents. It was perfect, the neighbors are nice, it’s quiet, – he continues. “There’s been some people screaming outside and some craziness going on in the middle of the night, but for the most part, it’s a really great place to live.”
Lanford also notes that the building is equipped with a “24/7 security code and security,” so he always felt safe in his home.
However, that all changed in late November when construction work was underway outside the building, Lanford says. During this time, “someone had let an unwell person into our building off the street.”
Initially, Lanford was unaware that this person had entered the building. Then he started hearing strange noises like “screaming, wailing and crying” from the hallway.
“It looked eerily like something was really wrong,” he recalls. He was initially concerned that the sounds were coming from one of his neighbors. “It turned into an animalistic, almost devilish howl, and that noise scared me, scared my dog.
“I mean, there were just strange occurrences going on in the building,” Lanford tells Realtor.com®. “And so I was really connected to everything that was going on.â€
After the incident in his corridor, he says, the intruder left the premises through the security of the building. The management company emailed residents to inform them that their access code had been changed following a “recent security issue”.
Understandably, he assumed the matter was settled. But he was wrong.
Things went from bad to worse over the next few days, Lanford says.
“There were notes left on the front door and I overheard one of my neighbors talking about how they saw someone trying to steal a bike that they didn’t recognize. It’s not a very big building, you know.
At first, Lanford wondered if an untrustworthy neighbor was stealing from other residents — until he came face-to-face with the resident while he was walking his dog.
“A few days ago I received [my dog] outside and I heard a stir, – he says. “It’s really strange because it was really early in the morning and nobody is usually in that part of the building.
“As we turned the corner, my dog started to fuss. He saw someone or something. And then the basement door closed ever so aggressively. It was scary.â€
Lanford continued walking into the courtyard of the building, only to see a “peculiar looking man” through a window of the property.
“He was coming out of the basement and looking at me like he just got caught,” Lanford recalled in his TikTok video. “I had my dog with me and he’s a pit bull, so I felt good. [The man] SEE [my dog] and left me alone. Then he left. I don’t know where he went
Even then, Lanford assumed the odd interaction was a one-off, joking that maybe the man was just “socially awkward.” But soon after, a neighbor posted a warning on the building’s message board, revealing that a “Strange Man” was seen in the basement attempting to steal a bicycle.
“Now we’ve learned that this man lives in our basement, and he’s stealing our packages, he’s stealing our clothes, he’s trying to steal our bikes, and he’s just moving around meeting in our building,” Lanford says. “And no one is trying to do anything about it?
“The property management company, to my knowledge, is informed about the situation. … It really feels like someone is squatting in your residents’ building, you need to let them know this is happening.â€
Lanford says he’s now terrified to go into the basement, where the laundry and garbage cans are.
After receiving further complaints from residents, the building’s management installed more security cameras inside and outside the property, he adds.
“They tried to solve the problem and they’ve updated the security in our buildings so now there are cameras everywhere,” he says.
They also found a makeshift bed and some trash near the laundry room—but so far, there have been no additional reports of sightings.
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Image Source : nypost.com