Burglary suspect trapped in grease vent for two days

Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Authorities in California said they rescued an attempted burglar who ended up trapped for two days in a shuttered restaurant's grease vent.

Igor Campos, owner of Campos Tax Services in San Lorenzo, said he kept hearing sounds coming from the Chinese restaurant next door, which had been closed for several months.

Campos said he went to investigate Wednesday morning and discovered the grease-covered man stuck in an exhaust vent.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office and the Altameda County Fire Department responded to the scene and dismantled the vent to free the man.

Investigators said the 29-year-old man, who was taken to a local hospital for evaluation, was trapped for two days.

"First off we can confirm this man was not Santa Claus and did not have legal authority to be here," Alameda County Sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Ray Kelly told KABC-TV.

Kelly said he does not yet know what charges the man will face.

"We know sometimes suspects try to break into businesses to steal copper wire and plumbing and recycling for money," Kelly said. "This appears to be something along those lines."