Yosue Joel Rios had a sleeping bag, a backpack and a shovel, and police said he used the shovel to dig a 15-foot-deep tunnel in a Fairfax City park and make it his home.
Rios, 25, was charged with destruction of property after his hideaway – complete with two small caves — was discovered in Van Dyck Park. Sgt. Natalie Hinesley, a Fairfax City police spokeswoman, said Rios camouflaged the den by covering it with a large piece of plywood.
Hinesley said several area residents found the tunnel in the 20-acre park and reported it to police Sunday. Officers went to investigate the tunnel sometime after 4:10 p.m. and found a man-made cave with a pillow, hand-held gardening tools and other personal items inside, she said.
[Read about a tunnel in Canada that investigators say two men built for “personal reasons”]
As officers examined the tunnel, Rios walked up and told them that he lived there, Hinesley said.
Rios would not tell police how long he has been living there or how long it took him to create the tunnel and the two caves — one on each side — one of which had a five-foot ceiling, Hinesley said.
Rios, who was wanted for failure to appear on a traffic charge in Arlington County, was held without bond, Hinesley said.
She said employees from the city’s Department of Public Works filled in the tunnel and caves Monday morning.
