DAMN VENT! 
2003 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance
SOUTH BEND -- A break-in attempt late last week at a northwest-side business turned fatal for the would-be burglar.
The body of a man believed to have died while trying to break into the former Lincoln Way Foods grocery store at 736 Lincoln Way W. was discovered stuck in the ceiling shortly after noon Saturday.
The body was discovered by Mike Farhan, 21, part of a group that recently purchased the grocery. It has been closed for about three weeks while they remodel it.
Farhan said he and other workers found the robber's body in the northwest corner of the store in an area recently remodeled to be a kitchen. The man's lower body was extending from a large vent installed about three weeks ago.
"We walked in and saw two feet hanging. I didn't know what to think," Farhan said.
The body was wedged so tightly into the vent flue that city firefighters had to use saws to cut the metal so that it could be removed. The body was then taken to the morgue at Memorial Hospital, where an autopsy is to be performed Monday.
The victim was a white male who appeared to be in his early 40s, said Dennis "Mike" Swanson, commander of the St. Joseph County Special Crimes Unit. Police may know who he is, Swanson added.
It appears the man climbed onto the roof of the grocery and tried to crawl through the vent but became stuck, Swanson said.
It appeared the man had been dead for no more than 24 hours by the time his body was discovered, Swanson added. Officials hope the autopsy will help determine the cause of his death.
Farhan said the grocery's new owners had hoped to reopen in about a month. He is concerned that Saturday's discovery may force the reopening to be postponed.
Anyone with information on the attempted burglary or the identity of the man found should call the detective bureau of the South Bend police at (574) 235-9263.
Submitted on 07/09/2002
Submitted by:
Eric
Reference:
South Bend Tribune 7-7-02
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