Man Found Living Inside Restaurant Ceiling

It's a phone call Denver police don't likely get every shift: A man reportedly had fallen through a restaurant's ceiling late Tuesday night.

Not that he landed on tableful of cocktails or hot wings or anything — this guy landed behind a wall where water pipes and the HVAC system are housed, KMGH-TV reported. When firefighters arrived at the Yard House at the 16th Street Mall, they saw the man in the space for the pipes but then lost sight of him.

While police couldn't find him above the ceiling area, KMGH said, they did find a bunch of bottle caps from various alcoholic beverages up there. Police said he stole items from restaurant and concluded he'd been living in the rafters.

Then a few hours later, there was an odd noise.

"There was moaning coming from one of the walls to the right of the front doors," James Ballinger with the Denver Police Department told KMGH.

Image source: KMGH-TV

After authorities removed seats from one of the booths, they saw at least part of what they were looking for: the man's feet behind the wall.

So firefighters used a chainsaw to cut a hole in the wall so they could get to the man, who was wearing only blue jeans. He was transported to a hospital with unknown injuries.

Image source: KMGH-TV

In addition to falling about 20 feet into the pipe space, KDVR reported, the man may have tripped or slipped. In the process he set off sprinkler valves, which flooded the restaurant and the lobby of the adjoining Sheraton Hotel and caused about $100,000 in damage, police told TheBlaze Wednesday.

Image source: KMGH-TV

The man faces criminal mischief and burglary charges, police told TheBlaze, adding there is no information regarding how long the man was living in the restaurant's rafters. His name is undisclosed, police said.