SEATTLE NEWS ARCHIVES & FEATURES
South Hill man finds squatters sleeping in truck
Jan 29, 2019, 5:23 PM
Scott Loidhamer found these piles of clothes -- which he described as filled with a terrible stench -- after he found two squatters sleeping in his truck. (Photo courtesy of Scott Loidhamer)
(Photo courtesy of Scott Loidhamer)
Scott Loidhamer felt secure in his South Hill neighborhood, and as such, didn’t always lock his classic 1967 Chevy C10 in his driveway, a truck that he described “a work in progress.”
But that changed Saturday morning, when Loidhamer and his wife returned to their home from a breakfast outing to find their neighbor telling them that two homeless squatters had been sleeping in the truck.
“I could hardly believe it, that two people would be going through my stuff in the middle of the night, walking through the yard,” Loidhamer told KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson. “You know, just sleeping in our cars that are supposed to be private property.”
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The police came to the scene, but the two people had gotten away on foot.
Loidhamer found jackets, blankets, bandannas, and trash spread out everywhere in the truck. He said that there was an strong stench in the vehicle, resembling that of a person who has not showered in several days.
“I think they’ve slept in there several times to be honest, and I just didn’t know it,” Loidhamer said, noting that he does not use the truck every single day.
The neighborhood, South Hill’s Lipoma Firs development, is nothing super ritzy, Loidhamer said, but it’s clean, home to hardworking people, and has always been safe.
Now, however, that comforting feeling of security is gone.
“My wife is scared, the neighbors are scared,” he said.
Another neighbor found that two chainsaws were stolen from his shed. Loidhamer and the neighbor suspect that the truck squatters were responsible.
Now, Loidhamer has put a secure lock on his fence and is making sure to always lock his doors.
“It’s very sad that no matter where you go, you wonder if you’re safe, nowadays, in the Seattle area,” he said. “You wonder if stuff is going to be stolen from you. It’s disheartening.”
Loidhamer is a native Pacific Northwesterner, but moved to North Carolina for 14 years. He was excited to move back to his home region, but now is rethinking the decision.
“I’ve just come to discover that drug addiction and theft and homeless problems are just on the rise, just out of control,” he said. “The politicians are doing nothing about it, and now it’s become a monster they can’t control.”
