The body of a man who had been missing for more than a month was found by San Francisco Police in a crawl space, according to authorities.
Christopher Woitel last contacted his mother through social media on Jan. 9 and was reported missing on Jan. 13 by his mother, the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) said in a press release.
Investigators from the SFPD Special Victims Unit (SVU) served a search warrant at Woitel’s residence on Feb. 12 with the intent to “locate evidence of a crime scene.” Investigators, however, were unable to find any signs of foul play or evidence that any crime was committed, according to police.
SVU Investigators along with investigators from the Crime Scene Investigations (CSI) issued a second search warrant just three days later on Feb. 15, according to police.
San Francisco computer programmer who mysteriously vanished from Mission District apartment found dead in crawl space above unit
The body of Christopher Woitel, 50, was discovered “hidden from plain view” in a 3-foot-high crawl space above his bathroom.https://t.co/M4RlqCeEpJ
— New York Daily News (@NYDailyNews) February 18, 2021
Woitel’s body was found in a small, roughly three-foot crawl space above the bathroom, which was hidden in plain view, according to police. (RELATED: Remains Of Girl Missing For More Than 7 Years Found)
The San Francisco Fire Department arrived on the scene and cut a hole in the ceiling to retrieve Woitel’s body.
Investigators determined that Woitel likely gained access to the crawl space through the roof of the building and not through his apartment.
Police say foul play is not suspected but that the cause of death is pending.
In the days leading up to Woitel’s disappearance he allegedly sent his friends and family paranoid messages about the Capitol Riots, telling them he wanted to escape to the mountains, according to Mission Local.
