New York City’s latest manhole mystery may not be a caper after all, but a hunt for washed-away loot. Two men were arrested on trespassing charges after police said they were caught on camera climbing out of a manhole near East 61st Street and Park Avenue around 1:38am Wednesday, NBC News reports. Authorities said automatic plate readers later flagged two vehicles traveling together over the Queensboro Bridge, leading investigators to the pair, identified in court records as Samuel Reveron, 25, and Kevin Rodriguez, 26.
Police said the men admitted going underground to search for valuables swept into storm drains and sewers. The NYPD said the episode resembles earlier unauthorized sewer entries, though the men have not been charged in the other cases. There’s fresh intrigue, however: Police received a call A witness reported seeing three men climb out of Brooklyn’s sewer system early Friday, per the Gothamist. Police arrived to find no one around and the manhole cover in place.