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Police said they found the man in deplorable conditions.
BELLAIRE, Ohio -- Police said a Bellaire man had to be removed from his home on Washington Street Sunday.
Police said the man's skin had become attached to the fabric of the chair after he sat in it for two years
Authorities said he was sitting in his own feces and urine and maggots were visible.
Police were called in to help transfer the man to the hospital.
(Related story: Community Asks Questions in Obese Bellaire Man Story)
Authorities said they had to cut a hole in the wall to get the man out of his home.
Shockingly, two other able-bodied people lived there---another man, who had a separate bedroom, and the girlfriend of the man who was stuck in the chair. Officials say the girlfriend served food to him, since he never got up.
Bellaire Code Enforcer Jim Chase says now the tennants have been given orders to clean it or leave it.
One officer said it was the worst thing he ever responded to. And most said the worst part of all was the smell. Ironically the landlord says the man in the chair rented from her before and used to be a vital active person.
She says she checked on them periodically but lately he always sat with a blanket over him. She says she had no idea it had come to this.
Sunday morning his housemates called officials when he was unresponsive.
The 43-year-old man is currently in the hospital.
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BELLAIRE -- Community reaction has been intense to our story about the morbidly obese man who spent two years in his chair.
Everyone is asking, "how could this happen?"
A man whose skin had fused to his chair, with bedsores, maggots and excrement everywhere. The description from the first responders was horrifying.
Now the 43-year-old Bellaire man is reportedly clinging to life in Wheeling Hospital.
Who is in charge of a case like this? First of all, is it a legal issue? A Belmont County legal authority says it appears that it is not.
The man, from all official accounts, was not being held against his will, was not a captive, not forced to live confined to his chair, with no access to hygiene.
WTRF 7 News is told by several sources that the man insisted on living his life in his chair, insisted that his girlfriend bring him food and soft drinks.
Several people have suggested it's a case for Adult Protective Services. However, their jurisdiction is reportedly limited to the elderly. Clients must be in their 60s or older. A 43 year old does not qualify.
Is it a case for Children's Services? So often, cases involving filthy houses fall under their jurisdiction. But in this case, officials say, no children were involved.
And there's the Health Department---They do have an environmental health section, but it deals more with things like lead paint on walls that could affect children.
No one wants to address this issue on camera. But off-camera, this is what they are saying.
"This is a living condition issue, that is unfortunately a matter of personal choice. It didn't affect a child, it didn't affect a senior citizen. It's a gray area. The kind of case that falls between the cracks."
And finally there's the landlord---She says she's been attacked online and on the airwaves and she's tired of it.
She says, "you rent to adult and you expect them to know how to live. He was always sitting underneath a blanket. I had no idea the extent of it."
She says there are now seven people cleaning the house. She also adds it may be too late for the man who chose to live his life in a chair.
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