Pending Review
Lost Beneath Leeds
An unidentified, disappearing burglar is widely believed to be the winner of a Darwin Award despite the absence of his remains. Police caught the man and an accomplice red-handed breaking into businesses in the city of Leeds, and both took off.
After watching, presumably, one heist movie too many he jumped into a channel and fled into a large storm drain. Once inside he found a metal cover on a wall clocking in at a whopping 50kg (112 lbs), but being a professional crook he managed to force it open and vanished inside. Officers dared not follow, and like that, he was free!
Unfortunately for the brazen thief, the police had good reason not to follow. The man had fled directly into the city's sewage system! Knowing well the dangers, authorities immediately launched a massive search effort. Rescuers in breathing apparatus found a set of footprints venturing a quarter of a mile into the sewer before suddenly ending in a patch of toxic gas.
Even with special equipment, it was deemed too dangerous to pursue the man any further into the sewer network. Engineers confirmed there was no other possible exit between the point of entry and Knostrop Water Treatment Works, and after 48 hours staff at the sewage plant were told to get ready for the arrival of a corpse.
My research suggests none ever arrived, so most likely the body disintegrated to the point of not being noticed. Perhaps it's still down there. Or maybe, just maybe, a very smelly thief cheated the odds and made it out to steal again.
THREE references:
https://www.itv.com/news/calendar/story/2013-04-29/burglary-suspect-lost-in-sewer/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-leeds-22343962
https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/crime/search-called-after-burglar-who-fled-sewer-feared-dead-1866038
One of those has an amazing photo of the grate he pried open. You gotta see it!
Submitted on 02/23/2021
Submitted by:
Iona Macdonald
Reference:
Various (see above)