Cypress : Man Spends 4 Days Pinned Under Mattress

A 69-year-old Cypress man was in serious condition Tuesday, suffering from dehydration and pneumonia after being pinned under a mattress in his home for 4 days, police said.

Chester Rasmussen, a widower who lived alone, apparently fell out of bed and accidently pulled the mattress on top of himself while trying to get up, Cypress Police Lt. John Schaefer said.

Officers were called to the home in the 5300 block of Cumberland Drive on Monday by neighbors and a postal carrier who became concerned about Rasmussen’s well-being when he did not pick up his mail for several days.

Officers forced open the home’s front door and found Rasmussen in the bedroom pinned between the mattress and a wall, Schaefer said.

“He had tried to get up using the edge of the mattress as support, and it rolled on top of him,” Schaefer said. “It appeared he just didn’t have the strength to pull it off.”

Schaefer said Rasmussen was conscious but apparently in shock when officers found him. He had apparently been under the mattress since Thursday when he was last seen, Schaefer said.

Rasmussen was taken by paramedics to Los Alamitos Medical Center, then transferred to the intensive-care unit at Long Beach Memorial Hospital, authorities said.