Firefighters rescue man who wedged himself inside wall to hide from police but couldn’t escape

MONROVIA, Ind. – A central Indiana man who hid inside a wall in his home to avoid arrest had to be rescued by firefighters after he became wedged next to its chimney for more than a day.

Steven Shuler was trying to avoid arrest on a probation violation Monday when he squeezed down a narrow hole in the attic floor next to the chimney in his home in Monrovia, about 25 miles southwest of Indianapolis, officials said.

Morgan Township Fire Chief Miguel Ongay said Shuler had to stay in his 16 inch-wide hiding place for more than a day because he couldn’t climb out. A visiting friend found him Tuesday morning and called firefighters to retrieve him.

Ongay said he had never encountered anything like that in three decades on the job.

“It was a special kind of stupid. This is one of those jobs where you think you’ve seen it all and then somebody tops it,” he said.

Morgan County Sheriff’s Cpl. Ryan Swank said Shuler was arrested Tuesday on the probation violation and remained held Thursday at the county jail.