T1B

LEBANON - Shannon Hunter told rescuers who came to cut him out of a portable potty Sunday that he was there because he had to go to the bathroom, authorities said.

He didn't tell them why he took off all his clothes and climbed or fell into the tank, wedging himself up to his waist in a soup of chemicals and sewage.

"Inquiring minds want to know," Lebanon police Chief William Harvey said. "It defies sober logic."

Hunter, 31, of Lebanon, told rescuers that he had been drinking, Harvey said. Court records state he has been sentenced for alcohol-related crimes.

He called 911 on his cell phone at 9:27 p.m. Sunday from the toilet at the rear of the 600 block of Cumberland Street. It was there for construction workers.

A neighbor who heard Hunter's cries for help also called 911, Lebanon Deputy Fire Commissioner Chris Miller said.

"When we got the call, we figured maybe the door latch was broken or something," Miller said. "When we got there, he was in the tank from his waist down." Harvey's clothes were in a heap on the toilet floor, Miller said.

It was quite full and had been "festering in the heat," Harvey said.

Miller said rescuers put on biohazard suits because of the human waste and the formaldehyde-based chemical in the tank. They used saws to cut Hunter out, while using about a half gallon of liquid soap to lubricate his hips.

They decontaminated him, wrapped him in a sheet and sent him to Good Samaritan Hospital in an ambulance. He had only scratches and bruises, but rescuers figured he would probably need some inoculations, Harvey said.

The rescuers then decontaminated the rescue area and roped off the street until the septic company could collect its toilet.

Miller said Hunter was vague about how he got into that predicament.

"I asked him why he took his clothes off to go to the bathroom and he just shrugged his shoulders," Miller said. "I've done this type of work for 21 years now, and this is the first time I've found someone stuck in a [portable toilet]."

No phone number could be found for Hunter.

Police charged him with public drunkenness, and the public safety department charged him with a health code violation.

, while using about a half gallon of liquid soap to lubricate his hips.

Mister Bushice wrote:When the lights go out, it doesn't matter.

Mister Bushice wrote:When the lights go out, it doesn't matter.