Homeless Man Calls 9-1-1 From Hot Tub

A homeless man who sneaked into a Beaverton hot tub, then called 9-1-1 to ask for towels, hot chocolate and a hug got cold comfort from police instead.

Mark Eskelsen called emergency dispatchers from his cell phone about 7:10 a.m. Sunday, identified himself as "the sheriff of Washington County," and asked for medical help.

The dispatcher asked Eskelsen, who later admitted he wasn't the sheriff, what was wrong.

"Well, I've been yelling for about an hour and a half," Eskelsen said.

But the dispatcher already knew that. Neighbors had called 9-1-1, concerned about the man bellowing from a fence-surrounded pool in the 15000 block of Southwest Village Lane.

Eskelsen said he had been sitting in the water for about 10 hours. His towels had gotten wet, and his fingers looked like prunes.

"I just need a hug and a warm cup of hot chocolate with marshmallows in it," he told the dispatcher.

Beaverton police officers arrived, found Eskelsen naked in the tub, and arrested him on accusations of second-degree criminal trespass and improper use of the 9-1-1 system.

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