DANA POINT — A tri-level tree house with three rooms, an aquarium and views of the Pacific Ocean was uncovered hidden in a 50-foot-tall Aleppo pine tree in Lantern Bay Park on Wednesday, Feb. 7, officials said.

The structure was discovered around 8 a.m. by a group of tree trimmers working in the park, said Orange County Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Rich Himmel. The tree was within view of the Laguna Cliffs Marriott Resort & Spa.

Crews worked to remove a tri-level tree house in Lantern Bay Park, which police suspect was built by a homeless man. (Photo courtesy of Sgt Rich Himmel)

Goldfish and an aquarium were found in a tree house in a Dana Point park. (Photo courtesy of Sgt. Rich Himmel)

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A tri-level tree house was found in Lantern Bay Park in Dana Point on Wednesday, Feb. 7. (Photo courtesy of Sgt. Rich Himmel)



“It was in a beautiful pine tree,” he said. “The tree house was right in the middle of it — well-hidden and about 10 feet off the ground. This thing had three rooms. One room was carpeted with indoor/outdoor carpet. Another one had an aquarium with goldfish in it.”

Each room was about 5-by-8-feet, with plenty of room to stretch out, Himmel said. There were also sun shades in several areas that looked toward the ocean.

“A considerable amount of work and materials went into this,” he said. “We are investigating this. It’s a crime of vandalism. Someone has to be held accountable.”

The cost to dismantle the tree house, along with the cost of an arborist to assess the damage to the tree, could be in the thousands of dollars, Himmel said.

Based on personal property left behind, deputies determined the tree house likely was built by a local homeless man, Himmel said.

It took city crews a few hours to dismantle the house which appears to have been pieced together with wood and salvaged construction materials. Dog walkers and joggers who came by mentioned to deputies that they thought something might have been up there, but assumed it was children, Himmel said.

After the structure was dismantled, deputies took about a dozen goldfish to the San Clemente animal shelter.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever taken goldfish to an animal shelter,” Himmel said.