Man discovered living in Oregon home without owner's knowledge

A man was discovered living in a crawl space of a home near Portland, Oregon without the owner's knowledge, authorities say.

The man had been living there for an extended period of time, having set up a bed and lights, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said.

The owner told deputies no one should be living there and they had heard "strange noises" coming from the space.

Deputies found 40-year-old Beniamin Bucur inside the crawl space and arrested him on charges of burglary and unlawful possession of methamphetamine.

Shortly before 23:00 local time on Wednesday, sheriff's deputies responded to investigate a suspicious circumstance in a residential area close to Happy Valley, a small city south-east of Portland.

A witness reported seeing a man who was not known to live in nearby homes parking his car and walking towards the back of the buildings. The witness also noticed the door to the crawl space was open and light was coming from inside.

When deputies arrived, they noticed the door was damaged and had been locked. An extension cord was seen running through a vent.

After contacting the owner and being told no one should be there, deputies tried to open the door with the owner's keys, but they did not work. Deputies forced the door open and discovered Bucur.

Bucur "was obviously living inside", law enforcement said, as the room was fitted with various electrics, including chargers, a television, and lights plugged into the power of the house, as well as a bed.

A meth pipe was also found in the search, the sheriff's office said.

Bucur was booked into jail and his bail was set at $75,000 (£55,524).