Woman trapped in chimney dated homeowner after meeting online, he says

A woman who was arrested after being trapped inside a chimney had met the Thousand Oaks homeowner online and dated him before he recently broke off the relationship, according to the homeowner.

The man told KTLA-TV that he met 30-year-old Genoveva Nunez-Figueroa online and had gone on six dates with her.

“She seemed totally cool until the first flag was her actually being on my roof two weeks ago,” said the man, who did not want to be identified.

Soon after, he said, he broke off the courtship. But she apparently returned to his roof again early Sunday.

Ventura County firefighters worked for two hours, removing each brick in the chimney to rescue Nunez-Figueroa after she became trapped inside, fire officials said.

Firefighters had to pour dish soap down the flue and spray water to grab her arms and pull her out, authorities said.

She was taken to a hospital and later arrested on suspicion of unauthorized entry of a dwelling and of giving false information to a police officer, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

It is unclear why she entered the home, sheriff’s officials said.

While the homeowner was not there during the ordeal, he later told KTLA he hopes Nunez-Figueroa “gets help” and “stays offline.”

“Even if she’s online, people are probably going to know who she is now, so, ‘You’re welcome,’ ” he said.

Times staff writer Lauren Raab contributed to this report.

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