Little Girl Claims Her Missing Dad Lives Beneath Floorboards

The forensic specialist arrived twenty minutes later carrying a heavy metal case.

He wore a protective white suit and heavy blue rubber gloves.

He unpacked a high-tech subterranean sensor scanner onto the floor.

The blue digital screen lit up with bright green grid lines.

Tech: Ground penetrating radar ready for scan.

Sarah stood back holding Lily safely in her arms.

Mark leaned over the specialist's shoulder to watch the display screen.

The tech rolled the round scanner wheel slowly across the oak floorboards.

An electronic pinging sound echoed through the quiet house.

Tech: Reading solid oak floor and main structural joists.

He moved the scanner directly over the dark residue stain.

The pinging sound suddenly doubled in speed and pitch.

A thick red shape appeared on the rugged laptop monitor screen.

Mark: What is that density reading right there?

Tech: There is a large empty cavity directly beneath this room.

Sarah stepped closer to view the radar wave image.

Sarah: Is it a standard utility crawlspace?

Tech: No, this house blueprint does not show any basement.

Tech: This cavity was constructed deliberately out of thick concrete walls.

The monitor showed a distinct outline resting inside the hidden space.

Mark: That almost looks like a human shape.

Sarah: Is there any movement registered by the thermal sensor?

The technician adjusted the thermal sensitivity knob on the side.

A tiny faint patch of heat glowed deep inside the red zone.

Tech: There is a heat signature down there.

Tech: It is weak, but it is definitely alive.

Lily pressed her small face into Sarah's police uniform shirt.

Lily: I told you daddy was down there.

Mark pulled his heavy flashlight from his duty belt.

Mark: How do we open this without collapsing the floor?

Tech: The seams near the fireplace look like concealed hinges.

Sarah pulled out her cell phone and dialed the police sergeant.

Sarah: We need an emergency rescue crew at this address immediately.

Sarah: We have a confirmed trapped person beneath the floor structure.

Outside, heavy car doors slammed in the driveway.

Lily's stepfather, Richard, walked briskly through the front entry door.

His face turned pale when he saw the forensic equipment on his floor.

Richard: What is the meaning of all this intrusion?

Mark: Stay right where you are, sir.

Richard: You have no legal right to tear up my hardwood floors.

Sarah: This is a crime scene investigation now, Richard.

Richard took a sharp step backward toward the open front door.

Richard: I am calling my estate lawyer this second.

Mark: You are not leaving this property, sir.

Richard reached into his jacket pocket quickly.

Mark moved fast and blocked the exit route with his body.

Mark: Hands where I can see them right now.

Richard pulled out a key ring instead of a weapon.

His hand trembled violently as metal keys jingled together.

Sarah: You knew about the room under the floor, didn't you?

Richard stared silently at the scanner screen flickering on the floor.