Police arrest alleged squatter in Lake Oswego

With the help of a Tigard K9, officers find Erich Jae Wonderling hiding in a bedroom of a vacant house

Lake Oswego Police arrested one man and are looking for his female companion after being called to the First Addition neighborhood Friday by a homeowner who said someone was apparently inside his vacant house without permission.

LOPD Lt. Darryl Wrisley said the homeowner was alerted by a neighbor after a woman came out of the house in the 700 block of B Avenue just before 1 p.m. and told a delivery driver that a man inside the house was being abusive.

The woman then disappeared, Wrisley said, but a neighbor who witnessed the conversation knew that the house was supposed to be empty and called the homeowner, who then alerted police to what he believed was a burglary in progress.

When officers arrived, they called for the man to come out of the house. When he did not respond, they entered the home accompanied by a K9 from the Tigard Police Department, who found 46-year-old Erich Jae Wonderling hiding in a bedroom.

It appeared that Wonderling and his female companion had been living in the house for a few days, Wrisley said. He described the suspect as a transient and said police had recently received several calls about him from residents in the area.

Wonderling was taken to Clackamas County Jail, where he faces charges of first-degree burglary and theft of services. Bail was set at $41,500. Police know who his companion is, Wrisley said, and are continuing to look for her.

— The Review