Man rescued after being trapped for 2 days in giant fan at Santa Rosa vineyard

The 38-year-old man required medical treatment but is expected to make a full recovery

Authorities rescued a man who said he had been trapped for two days inside a large fan at a northern California vineyard. The man was discovered Tuesday by a deputy responding to a call about a suspicious vehicle parked near the winery in Santa Rosa, the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement. The deputy saw a hat on a piece of farming equipment and then found the man stuck inside the shaft of a vineyard fan. Firefighters rescued him.

This photo provided by the Sonoma County Sheriff's Office shows a fan at a vineyard in Santa Rosa, Calif. where a man was found on Tuesday, June 8, 2021, trapped inside a large fan at a vineyard for two days. (Sonoma County Sheriff's Office via AP)

“The man indicated he liked to take pictures of the engines of old farm equipment,” the statement said. “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.”

The 38-year-old man required medical treatment but is expected to make a full recovery, the office said.

The man will be charged with trespassing and drug possession, as well as violations of a probation case, the statement said.

Vineyard fans are used to circulate air across vines to keep grapes from freezing during colder months.