Advertisement Naked man found trapped in chimney pleas to trespassing charge Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A man found trapped in a chimney at an Iowa business Wednesday has pleaded not guilty to a trespassing charge.Jordan Kajewski, 29, spent at least 11 hours stuck inside the chimney. He told authorities he was playing hide-and-seek.He has his initial appearance in court Thursday morning on the charge of trespassing while causing damage, and was released from jail. He declined to comment to the Daily Times Herald newspaper following the hearing.Brad Sapp, owner of the Carroll Redemption Center, said nothing too exciting ever happened at his shop in downtown Carroll that is until Wednesday morning when he heard something in the back room.“I was dragging some bags out and I heard a voice say what I thought was ‘Get out of here,’ but in a whisper of a voice,” said Sapp. “So I kind of looked around and didn't see anything.”Sapp says he went home and told his wife, who made fun of him for hearing ghosts. His wife heard a sound coming from the shop’s old chimney when they returned a few hours later.“And that's when the guy finally came out, and said, ‘Hey, I need help. I'm in the chimney,’” said Sapp. The couple called 911 to help get the man out.“In my career as a firefighter that's got to be one of the most unusual cases that I’ve ever responded to,” said Carroll Fire Chief Greg Schreck.Schreck said crews were able to see and communicate with Kajewski, who was stuck towards the base of the chimney.“He was very calm and relaxed, and he just wanted to get out of the chimney,” said Schreck. “He'd been in there a long time.”The fire department’s ladder truck was unable to help the man because he was too far down inside the chimney. Crews were forced to break the chimney’s brick wall to get Kajewski out.Daily Times Herald reporter Jared Strong, who arrived at the scene after hearing about the incident on police scanner traffic, reported that Kajewski was naked when firefighters pulled him from the chimney, and that Kajewski claimed he was playing hide-and-seek when he got stuck.“I've been a crime reporter for a while now, and you see some crazy things, although I don't think I ever thought about seeing a naked man emerge from a chimney,” said Strong.