A woman who lived alone in an apartment in Enumclaw, Washington, has revealed how she discovered a stranger had been secretly living in her attic for six months. The incident occurred in 1995 when she was 20 years old. After noticing an attic hatch was open one night, she realised the footsteps, missing food and other odd occurrences were not caused by her brother but by an unknown intruder.
In the months leading up to the discovery, she had heard footsteps above her bedroom and noticed items going missing. A six-pack of soda would be down by two after coming home from work, and packets of soup and ramen noodles would also disappear. Doors that she had left open would be closed, or vice versa. At the time, she assumed her brother, who had a key, was responsible.
The situation escalated when she found her puppy in the bathroom sink after a flood. The puppy was too small to get there on her own, leading the woman to believe someone had placed her there to rescue her. After confronting the landlady, who dismissed the possibility of an intruder as 'a squirrel or raccoons', the woman eventually called in sick one day and saw the attic hatch open, confirming her worst fears.
She called her sister-in-law, who arrived quickly, and police were summoned. Officers found a nest in the attic containing a sleeping bag, some food and a book. The intruder was never caught. Reflecting on the experience, the woman said she felt sympathy for the intruder, noting that he 'was the best roommate I ever had' because he was quiet and kept to himself. She now lives in Illinois with her family and no longer has an attic.
