Man Freed After 3 Days in Crawl Space

A 73-year-old Alzheimer’s patient was in fair condition Tuesday, a day after he was rescued from the crawl space under a Highland Park board and care home where he apparently had been for three days.

John Lowery, shaken and suffering from mild dehydration and malnourishment, was taken to Huntington Memorial Hospital on Monday after he was rescued by paramedics, who found him wedged inside a crawl space under the Highland Crown Retirement Center in the 6000 block of Hayes Avenue.

Lowery, who lived at the home, remained hospitalized Tuesday, hospital spokeswoman Maggie McPhillips said.

Officials at Highland Crown said Lowery apparently removed two small locks and a screen, then wriggled into the crawl space last Friday, the day workers at the home noticed that he was missing.

Lowery, a former locksmith, was found stretched out in the crawl space on dirt and gravel about 2 p.m. Monday by a pest control worker. Rescuers asked him why he had crawled into the hole, but Lowery was “pretty nonverbal,” said Los Angeles Fire Department paramedic Joseph Bolanos, one of several rescuers who went to Lowery’s aid. A spokesman for the home said Lowery has frequently tried to leave the facility to “go to work.”