Local family discovers hidden room after sinkhole opens in garage
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IDAHO FALLS — A local family got more than they bargained for when a giant hole opened up in the floor of their garage.
Early Tuesday morning around 4 a.m. Brittany Bush and her husband woke up to loud noise. At first, they thought someone was trying to break into their house but, after not finding anything, they went back to bed. Later that same day, Brittany went to the garage and found what had made the noise.
“As I was pushing the garage door up, my right foot was stepping into the garage and just kept going down,” Brittany told EastIdahoNews.com. “I was holding onto the garage door and looked down and just started screaming. I’m like, ‘Our whole garage is sunk down!'”
While having a giant hole open up in your garage floor is surprising enough, the biggest shock came when the family realized that it wasn’t just a simple sinkhole. There was room hidden under what used to be the garage floor.
They could see shelving units that held children’s toys, a woman’s handbag, hair curlers and a letter.
“(The room) doesn’t appear on any city or county records,” Brittany said.
She said she and her husband called their insurance provider to find out what to do and if the damage would be covered. The insurance provider came to inspect the damage and brought along an engineer.
Upon inspection, the engineer told them he was surprised the floor didn’t cave in sooner. The cement was only two inches thick and he said there is a possibility there might be a second hidden room.
“Our home was built in the 50’s and it was built as a basement home,” Brittany said. “Then someone came in the 70’s and remodeled it and added the second story.”
Because of that, she said they thought the room might have been a bomb shelter.
“He (the engineer) said it is definitely not a bomb shelter,” she explained. “He says this looks very sketchy and is wondering what the backstory is.”
Brittany said they are now going to begin working on the clean-up and hoping they don’t find something sinister.
“They (the insurance provider and engineer) said don’t be alarmed if there is a body down there,” she said. “‘We hope there’s not but if there is stop what you’re doing and call the police.'”