Police in the small Illinois city of Geneseo found themselves dealing with an unusual call Wednesday evening — a woman wedged between the walls of a downtown business.
Authorities say 26-year-old Caleigh A. Gottsche, of Davenport, Iowa, was arrested after she was discovered trapped in a tight space between two walls on South State Street. She now faces multiple charges, including burglary, felony criminal damage to property, and criminal trespass, according to a statement from the Geneseo Police Department.
The bizarre scene began just before 5:30 p.m., when a local business owner reported hearing strange noises — thumping and movement — coming from the ceiling or attic. Officers arrived and searched the building but couldn’t pinpoint the sound’s source. Finding nothing out of place, they left the scene.
Roughly ten minutes later, the same business owner called again, saying the noises had returned — louder this time and coming from another part of the property. When officers came back, they expanded their search to the neighboring buildings. Then they heard faint whispering and shuffling from inside the walls themselves.
Officers followed the noises until around 6:30 p.m., when they made voice contact with Gottsche, who appeared to be trapped within a narrow section of the wall. The Geneseo Fire Protection District was called in to carefully remove her. Authorities said she was not seriously injured and was immediately taken into custody once she was freed.
Police later found damage to the roofs and shared access points of several adjoining businesses, suggesting that someone — possibly multiple people — had attempted to move between buildings through the ceiling or structural spaces. Investigators now believe Gottsche may not have been acting alone.
“The investigation is ongoing,” the department told local outlet KWQC, adding that officers are still searching for two additional suspects connected to the incident.
For residents in Geneseo, a city of about 6,500 people just east of the Mississippi River, the story quickly became a local curiosity — the kind of strange event that spreads fast in a small town. But beneath the odd circumstances, police say the case raises serious concerns about safety and property damage in the historic downtown strip, where many older buildings share common walls and attics.
Gottsche was booked into the Henry County Jail and remains in custody pending further court proceedings. Authorities have not said what she or her alleged accomplices were looking for, or how long she may have been inside the building before officers found her.
