A family in California, recently became terrified when they discovered that someone had been living under their home.
Charnita Matthews, her husband, and their four kids have lived there since the couple rented the house in Hemet, California, three months ago. According to her, during that time, she started hearing odd sounds, but they weren’t coming from inside her house.
“When I’m in another area of my house, I can hear doors close,” she told KTLA News.
It was when they started hearing an alarm go off all the time that she realized something was amiss. Eventually, her husband and her brother-in-law determined that the alarm was coming from beneath their house.
When they lifted a wooden plank off the side of their rear deck as they followed the sound, they discovered what looked to be a cellar or basement underneath the house. It quickly became clear that someone was living in there or had access to it.
They discovered a wide range of items, including detergent, soap, bleach, and “a tarp and a black tube that looked like it had some drugs in it.”
She said that when she signed the rental agreement, the landlord did not inform her about the basement
“I feel like management should have done better because I have four children and my husband travels. I’m scared to be here alone,” she said.
Matthews added, “You can see the door with the fan plugged in down there. So they’ve been using my electricity.”
She notified the Hemet Police Department of the scary discovery, and they dispatched an officer to investigate. Matthews said the police told her to call them if she saw anybody down there in the future.
Matthews said she hasn’t seen anyone coming or going since taking down the wooden board, but she now feels uncomfortable living there and is concerned about her family’s safety. She is also concerned about the number of people who might be aware of and use the space.