Mountain lion trapped in couple's crawl space

LOS FELIZ, LOS ANGELES -- A mountain lion, known as P-22, has quietly slipped out from under a Los Feliz home after spending hours lounging in the crawl space.

Officials said Tuesday that a thorough check turned up no sign of the big cat underneath the house in the 2700 block of Glendower Avenue in the hillsides near Griffith Park.

"We cleared both rooms. We crawled in; this equipment picked up no signal, so the lion is not under this house," said Lt. J.C. Healy, a wildlife warden.

It took a team of wildlife experts to safely make that determination using a telemetry wand to pick up the cat's collar.

Officials say P-22 was located just after 11 a.m. about a mile and a half into Griffith Park in a remote, undisclosed location.

On Monday night, fish and wildlife officials shot bean bag rounds and tennis balls and even poked P-22 with a pole, but the puma refused to budge.

The crew went home around 1 a.m. Healy believes P-22 took off in the middle of the night.

Homeowners told Eyewitness News that the cougar was found by a technician working on the home.

"One worker came sprinting to through our house, white-faced, shouting, 'There's a mountain lion under your house!" Paula Archinaco said.

Experts believe P-22 had made the crawlspace under the home his den for the last four months, but he won't be returning. Crews boarded up the hole he got under the house through.

P-22 is known to live in Griffith Park. He is believed to be the first mountain lion to leave the Santa Monica Mountains and cross over the 405 Freeway.

Last year, P-22 made headlines after it was exposed to rat poison. He was captured, treated and returned to Griffith Park.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.