Security guards at the Japanese American National Museum did a double-take when they saw security camera video of a shirtless man stashing his belongings into an underground utility vault.
The video then showed him opening a nearby utility vault on the sidewalk, lowering the door and disappearing into the darkness underground.
It appears the man might have been living under the museum in Los Angeles' Little Tokyo area. The vaults, usually accessed through doors or covers in the sidewalk, house utilities like gas, water and electrical lines.
Security team members noticed the man on video Monday between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. after the museum was closed. It was not clear how long he might have been living in the vault.
Get top local stories in Southern California delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC LA's News Headlines newsletter.
Doug Van Kirk, chief financial officer at Japanese American National Museum, said it's not unusual to see people living in tents on streets near the museum, but this was a first
Police found clothes, food, and a backpack with a replica gun inside the vault.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power was notified, Van Kirk said.
