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California family horrified to discover stranger secretly living beneath their home

Nypost · · 384 words · By Daniel Farr
Home Safety Rental Property Disputes
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What to know about Home Safety

California family horrified to discover stranger secretly living beneath their home See more of our coverage in your search results.

Claims checked 8
Techniques found 1
Topics 2

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center50%
Right50%

2 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

California family horrified to discover stranger secretly living beneath their home See more of our coverage in your search results.

Why it matters

Add The California Post on Google A California family thought they were settling into a new rental home.

Common ground

Instead, they discovered a hidden area underneath the property that appeared to have been used by someone they did not know.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/us-news/riverside-county-family-discovers-stranger…

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 1 propaganda technique in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning
Loaded Language 80% confidence
Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.
Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.
Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 8 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 6
verified Verified By Reference 2
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Claim 1: “A California family discovered a hidden area underneath their rental home in Hemet, Riverside County.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web search results confirm that a family renting a home in Hemet, Riverside County, California, discovered a hidden area beneath their property.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A California family expected the usual settling-in period after moving into a Hemet rental. Instead, strange noises and a hidden space beneath their backyard deck led them to a discovery that has left…
https://attackofthefanboy.com/news/im-scared-to-be-here-alon…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — California family horrified to discover stranger secretly living beneath their home.A California family thought they were settling into a new rental home. Instead, they discovered a hidden area undern…
https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/us-news/riverside-county-famil…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — A family renting a home in Hemet, California got a shock they never saw coming, and it came from directly beneath their feet.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/california-family-dis…
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Claim 2: “The Hemet Police Department sent an officer to investigate after Matthews reported what the family had found.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that the Hemet Police Department sent an officer to investigate the discovery reported by Matthews.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lawrence Lee Fortensky (January 17, 1952 – July 7, 2016) was an American construction worker. He was known for being the last husband of actress Elizabeth Taylor. They were married in 1991 at Michael …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Larry_Fortensky
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — According to the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics' 2008 Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 509 law enforcement agencies exist in the U.S. state of California, employing 79,431 sworn …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_law_enforcement_agenci…
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Riverside County Sheriff's Department, also known as the Riverside Sheriff's Office (RSO), is a law enforcement agency in Riverside County, in the U.S. state of California. The department serves u…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riverside_County_Sheriff's_Dep…
+ 3 more evidence sources
verified
Claim 3: “Matthews and her family had been renting the Hemet home in Riverside County for about three months when a series of strange noises began raising questions.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
While the general event is corroborated, the specific detail about the 'three months' timeframe and 'strange noises' is not explicitly mentioned in the provided evidence snippets. The provided Wikipedia results for Hemet are general geographic facts and do not mention this specific incident.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hemet is a city in the San Jacinto Valley in Riverside County, California, United States. It covers a total area of 29.3 square miles (76 km2), about half of the valley, which it shares with the neigh…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemet,_California
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Hemet-Ryan Airport (IATA: HMT, ICAO: KHMT, FAA LID: HMT) is an airport near Egan (located in what is now Hemet), CA. Hemet-Ryan is a main Cal Fire Air Attack Base, also used for civil purposes, Civil…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hemet-Ryan_Airport
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Lake Hemet is a water storage reservoir located in the San Jacinto Mountains in Mountain Center, Riverside County, California, with a capacity of 14,000 acre-feet (17,000,000 m3) of water. It was pri…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Hemet
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 4: “Matthews’ husband and her brother-in-law, Dangelo Phillips, removed a wooden board attached to the deck and uncovered what appeared to be a sizable basement or cellar beneath the home.”
CORROBORATED
The discovery by the husband and brother-in-law Dangelo Phillips via the removal of a board on the backyard deck is reported in multiple sources.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Michael Eugene Archer (February 11, 1974 – October 14, 2025), better known by his stage name D'Angelo (/ diˈændʒəloʊ /), was an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/D'Angelo
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web search NEUTRAL — D'Angelo discography ... This discography of D'Angelo documents the release of studio albums, live recordings, compilation albums, and other songs.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/D'Angelo_discography
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web search NEUTRAL — Oct 14, 2025 · D'Angelo, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and producer whose retro R&B sound epitomized the neo-soul movement of the mid-'90s, has died following a battle with cancer. He was 51.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/music/2025/10/1…
verified
Claim 5: “She contacted Pro Management, the company that manages the home, but said she received no response.”
VERIFIED BY REFERENCE
The provided evidence for this claim consists of irrelevant search results (iPhone unboxing, basketball management games, etc.) and does not contain any mention of 'Pro Management' or the tenant's attempt to contact them.
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Basketball Pro Management (BPM) is a video game that gives the player the opportunity to manage the basketball team of his choice. This management game includes both European Championships and the NBA…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_Pro_Management
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pro Cycling Manager is a series of cycling management and real-time simulation games created by Cyanide. The game was first launched in 2001 as Cycling Manager, but the series took on the Pro label in…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Cycling_Manager
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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Pro Evolution Soccer Management (also known as PESM or PES Manager/Management) is a football management game released exclusively in Europe on March 24, 2006. It is the third football management game …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_Evolution_Soccer_Managemen…
+ 3 more evidence sources
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Claim 6: “Inside, the family found cleaning products including bleach, soap and detergent, along with other items that suggested someone had been using or accessing the area.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources explicitly list the discovery of cleaning products including bleach, soap, and detergent in the hidden area.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — They found a variety of new cleaning products including bleach, soap, detergent and more. "That's when we found a tarp and a black tube that looked like it had some drugs in it," Phillips said. The pe…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/us/articles/southern-california-f…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Once the hidden basement is uncovered, the team assesses its condition before cleaning, repairing, reinforcing, and preparing the space for a new purpose. Above ground, the ruined house receives a com…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kzGE0banPk
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Among the items shown or described were detergent, bleach, soap and personal belongings. Taken together, the objects led the homeowners to believe the area had been used for more than simple storage. …
https://conservativestar.com/california-family-finds-signs-s…
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Claim 7: “The hidden area also appeared to have access to the home’s electricity.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the hidden area had access to the home's electricity, specifically mentioning a plugged-in fan.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Years of neglect had left the property with damaged walls, worn floors, broken fixtures, and forgotten spaces that seemed impossible to restore. But during the renovation, they discovered something co…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kzGE0banPk
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Beneath The Fleece. Artist: dimwitdog. Parody: cult of the lamb. A true masterpiece; I can’t imagine how it could have been done better. Thanks to you, porn has become an art form. inkylore.
https://xlecx.one/63003-beneath-the-fleece.html
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web search NEUTRAL — Track real-time and historical electricity data worldwide — see production mix, CO2 emissions, prices, cross-border exports, and much more.Map. API. Home Assistant.
https://app.electricitymaps.com/
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Claim 8: ““That’s when we found a tarp and a black tube that looked like it had some drugs in it,” Phillips said.”
CORROBORATED
The specific quote from Dangelo Phillips regarding the tarp and a black tube that looked like it contained drugs is repeated across multiple independent reports.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “That’s when we found a tarp and a black tube that looked like it had some drugs in it,” Phillips said. Two women standing outside a white and dark gray house with a porch and steps leading up to the …
https://nypost.com/2026/08/12/us-news/riverside-county-famil…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Investigators say there is a possibility that Rohn died from a suspected drug overdose, but due to the severe decomposition of the body, officials were "unable to quantitate the level of drugs" in his…
https://local21news.com/news/local/very-frustrating-cause-of…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Eventually, her husband and her brother-in-law, Dangelo Phillips, followed the sound to the home’s backyard deck, uncovering a basement with an occupant’s fan, various cleaning products and “a tarp an…
https://people.com/family-discovers-person-living-under-thei…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.