Man rescued from chimney after couple wakes to strange noises
A Houston-area couple says their quiet Easter weekend turned surreal when their dog began barking around 12:30 a.m. Sunday. Joni Mitchell heard strange noises coming from the fireplace and woke her husband, Kurt, who assumed an animal had gotten inside. When he opened the flue, they realized a man — speaking Spanish and clearly panicked — was wedged inside the chimney. The Mitchells called 911, and firefighters had to break through the brick to free him. Afterward, they learned from a Spanish‑speaking firefighter that the man claimed he had been chased and hid in the chimney to escape.