When neighbors in British Columbia hadn’t heard for seen Dave for a couple of days, they suspected something was wrong and contacted the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. What the police discovered shocked them all. Dave, a 76-year-old hoarder was trapped in his own home when piles of clutter came down around him, reports the Huffington Post on Jan. 18.
The police cut a path through the home that was reportedly stacked wall-to-wall and floor to ceiling with clutter, to reach the trapped man. The rescue took three hours.
Dave suffered injuries to his leg which had been trapped under him for 2 days. Medical officials say the leg may need to be amputated.
According to the police, Dave’s home and yard have been reported on numerous occasions for being unsightly and violating local ordinances. They met with him on 10 separate occasions to encourage him to clean up the yard and home. In 2006, city workers were authorized to clean the property and charge it to his tax bill, reports Burnaby News Leader.
Dave is thought to suffer from a mental condition that causes him to hoard items. The Mayo Clinic explains that Compulsive Hoarding or Compulsive Hoarding Disorder leads otherwise healthy individuals to keep items and develop a fear of throwing them away.
According to Symptom Find, one million Americans suffer from compulsive hoarding. Many compulsive hoarders also have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, but many do not, says Mayo Clinic.
Whether Dave suffers from this disorder is not known, but police say that if he does not have family to take care of him, social services may need to get involved.
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