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Woman finds ex from 12 years ago in attic

ROCK HILL, S.C., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- A South Carolina woman said she was shocked to discover her ex-boyfriend from 12 years ago has been living in her attic.

The Rock Hill mother of five, who identified herself as Tracy, said her one-year relationship with the 44-year-old man, whose name was not released, ended 12 years ago due to his drug use and conviction for robbing a flower shop, The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Tuesday.

Tracy, whose children range in age from 3 to 20, said she does not know how long the man was staying in her attic before being discovered by her nephew Sunday, but she started noticing strange noises and insulation falling from her ceiling Saturday evening.

The mother, who said the man helped install new doors on her home a year ago, said her nephew found the man sleeping in a heating unit in her attic Sunday. She said the man was near a vent he could have used to look into her bedroom.

"It's got me flabbergasted," she said. "How can you look at someone through an air vent?"

Tracy said the man left without explaining himself before police arrived Sunday.

"I want him to be charged with it," she said. "It could be somebody else he does the same thing to, but she might not be so lucky."

77-pound dachshund seeks to lose 40 pounds

PORTLAND, Ore., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- An Oregon woman has started a Facebook page to support her quest to help the 77-pound dachshund she adopted lose 40 pounds.

Nora Vanetta, a Portland veterinary technician, said she adopted 5-year-old Obie the dachshund from his elderly owners when they were no longer able to care for him due to their deteriorating health and she discovered he weighed more than twice as much as he should, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

Vanetta started the "Biggest Loser, Doxie Edition" page on Facebook to support her attempt to get Obie to lose 40 pounds and to track the canine's progress.

"He is extremely sweet and loving," Vanetta wrote on the page. "He was obviously loved and is a joy to work with. The ageing owners just couldn't say no to those big brown eyes."

Vanetta said Obie's current regimen involves dieting and hydrotherapy, as he is currently too large to exercise.

"I plan to do swim therapy with him and treadmill work once he starts to lose a little," Vanetta wrote. She said Obie "may eventually need to have excess skin surgically removed."

The page includes a link to a PayPal account for Obie's fans to donate funds to his healthcare and weight loss effort.

"I feel tremendously blessed to be involved in his rehabilitation and I am amazed at the outpouring of love and support that I have received," Vanetta wrote. "My hope is that he can be an inspiration to any person or animal trying to lose weight."

Suspect's swallowed gem was a fake

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka, Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Sri Lanka police said a man who was accused of swallowing a $13,000 diamond actually swallowed a fake in a possible diversion for an accomplice.

Police said the Chinese suspect -- who diamond owner Suresh de Silva spotted swallowing the object at his stall at a Colombo gem show -- was given laxatives to retrieve the diamond and investigators soon determined it was a fake, the BBC reported Tuesday.

Ajith Rohana, a police spokesman, said the man may have swallowed the fake diamond as a diversion to allow an accomplice to escape with the real $13,000 gem.

"We suspect that as habitual offenders, this group were in the habit of swapping real stones for fake ones," Rohana said.

Rohana said the arrested man, whose name was not released, was found to be carrying six more fake gems in his pocket.

Boy, 8, crashes mom's car

CHEEKTOWAGA, N.Y., Sept. 11 (UPI) -- Police in New York state said an 8-year-old boy will not be charged after crashing his mother's car into a fence, a street sign and a fire hydrant.

Cheektowaga Police Capt. James Speyer said April Haynes called 911 shortly after 6 a.m. Monday and reported her 8-year-old son, Andrew Letts, was missing along with her car, The Buffalo News reported Tuesday.

Police said they discovered the car on the lawn of a nearby neighbor and the boy was uninjured. They said Andrew had driven the vehicle about a half mile from his home before turning around, and on the return trip he jumped a curb, kicked over a stop sign and collided with a fire hydrant before coming to rest on the lawn.

"There's really nothing we can charge him with because he's so young, but his mother's auto insurer will likely have some money to pay out for the damages he caused," Speyer said.

The boy's reasons for taking his mother's car for a drive were unclear Tuesday.

The Buffalo News said it was unable to reach Haynes for comment.