Naked Man Found in Crawl Area Under Old Woman’s House: Reports

A naked man living under an elderly woman’s house has reportedly been arrested in California.

On Thursday, November 7, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) encountered the man in the crawl space underneath the El Sereno property after the woman, thought to be in her early 90s, continued to hear strange noises. NBC News, KCAL News And KTLA.

The woman’s grandson told KCAL News it took officers several hours to get the man out. Media reported that the man surrendered at around 4:30 local time on Friday morning after police used tear gas.

When officers discovered the man, they found blankets and food underneath the property, according to authorities.

According to NBC News, the woman’s son-in-law, Ricardo Silva, said the noises they had been hearing for weeks “usually occurred late at night and we attributed it to animals under the house.”

“The sounds sounded like knocking on the door. It was like they were knocking backwards from under the house as my wife was walking and she was saying, ‘You know something’s wrong,'” she said.

The man has since been identified as Issac Betancourt, according to NBC News and KTLA.

It’s unclear how long Betancourt had been living in the elderly woman’s home, but her family suspects she had been there for up to six months, NBC News reported.

The outlet noted that Betancourt now faces charges including trespassing.

Betancourt, 27, was arrested on a misdemeanor charge on Nov. 8, released on Nov. 9 and is now scheduled to appear in court on Dec. 6, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department inmate records reviewed by PEOPLE.

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According to KTLA, the man was initially unwilling to leave the crawl space, and police had to use “police dogs and rubber bullets without success” before tear gas was used.

“It’s a strange thing, but it’s probably not unusual, you know. In this day and age, people are looking for shelter,” Silva said, according to the television station.

“He refused to go. According to NBC News, Silva added about the man: He wasn’t afraid of dogs, and the first two gas attempts failed to catch him.

LAPD did not immediately respond when contacted by PEOPLE.