Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes
- A stranger lived in Zeb Pischnotte's basement for days, stealing items.
- Pischnotte discovered the intruder after noticing unusual behavior from his cat.
- He urges the intruder to seek available resources instead of resorting to theft.
SALT LAKE CITY — A stranger has destroyed Zeb Pischnotte's sense of security. Last weekend, Pischnotte says he discovered a stranger had been living in his basement for several days.
"It just shattered the peace of mind that I have. This feels like a very safe neighborhood," Pischnotte said.
Pischnotte believes it happened during a storm on March 18. He came home and saw someone had kicked in his door, stealing his gold ring, a University of Utah, Asia Campus, letterman jacket and his grandfather's cuff links.
"It's just a connection to him that, you know, doesn't exist anymore," Pischnotte said.
Pischnotte says he called Salt Lake City Police and together they searched the home, but they didn't find anyone inside.
He thought the burglary was the worst of it, but four days later, his cat Ziggy started meowing at the laundry room door, which was unusual since Ziggy's litter box was in there, and the door was never closed.
Later that day, Pischnotte noticed some of his wine bottles were out, prompting a conversation with his housemate, who told him he did not touch his wine. Armed with a ski, the two ventured into the laundry room and opened the storage room door.
Inside, they found a filthy fleece on the floor, about 10 empty bottles of alcohol, and a bunch of empty soup cans and tins of beans.
"Long story short, it's very likely that the person was living in that room for about four days," Pischnotte said.
The intruder had also left behind human waste; Pischnotte believes they used Ziggy's litter box as a toilet. Pischnotte also found old newspaper clippings, student IDs and even old medical records that had been removed from the storage room.
Pischotte reflected, "This person was either very bored or very intent on trying to get my identity."
Pischnotte is grateful that no one was hurt during the incident. "I'm lucky that this person wasn't a vicious serial killer and that he didn't come and throttle us in the middle of our sleep," he said.
He also has a message for the intruder who stayed in his home: "I don't know why you thought you had to destroy property and steal things in order to make ends meet. There are a lot of resources out there for homeless people, and I would really encourage you to look at those and take advantage of them. Heck, if you had just asked me for a coat or a blanket, I might have provided you one."
Have you experienced something you think just isn't right? The KSL Investigators want to help. Submit your tip at investigates@ksl.com or 385-707-6153 so we can get working for you.
"It's just a connection to him that, you know, doesn't exist anymore," Pischnotte said.
Pischnotte is sharing photos of the items that were stolen in the hopes that someone may recognize them and return them, perhaps through a pawn shop. If you have any information on where these items are, you are asked to contact Salt Lake City police's non-emergency line at 801-799-3000.
Photos
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