Man with meth stuck for two days in fan shaft outside Santa Rosa, sheriff’s office says

A man claims he spent two days stuck in a fan shaft in a field outside Santa Rosa before he was rescued Tuesday morning, authorities say.

He was discovered on Piner Road near Boss Road around 8:20 a.m. after a sheriff’s deputy responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle parked in the area, according to the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office.

After finding a hat on a piece of farming equipment, the deputy discovered the man inside the shaft of a vineyard fan, and firefighters were called to rescue him.

He was identified as a 38-year-old Santa Rosa man.

“The man indicated he liked to take pictures of the engines of old farm equipment,” sheriff’s officials said in a Facebook post. “After a thorough investigation, which revealed the farm equipment wasn’t antique and the man had far more methamphetamine than camera equipment, the motivation to climb into the fan shaft remains a total mystery.”

Sheriff’s Sgt. Juan Valencia said the man was capable of communicating with authorities.

The Sheriff’s Office said he needed medical treatment but was expected to make a full recovery.

Charges of trespassing and drug possession will be pursued, according to the sheriff’s office. He also is facing allegations related to probation violations in an unspecified case.

You can reach Staff Writer Colin Atagi at colin.atagi@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @colin_atagi.