Man trapped in ATM slips handwritten "please help" notes through receipt slot

An ATM in Corpus Christi, Texas, was dispensing more than money Wednesday afternoon.

After completing transactions, customers were shocked to find alarming handwritten notes popping out of the receipt slot. 

Each note had a similar message, "Please help. I'm stuck in here and I don't have my phone. Please call my boss at 210-***-****."

Some people thought the scribbled note was simply a prank and walked away, but the contractor trapped inside was hoping someone would take his plea seriously.

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Luckily, someone did — though it took about two hours.

When police received the unusual call, they, too, thought it might be a trick. But when they arrived on scene and approached the ATM, they could hear a faint voice calling to them from inside.

"We come out here, and sure enough we can hear a little voice coming from the machine," Corpus Christi Police Officer Richard Olden told CBS affiliate KZTV. "So we are thinking this is a joke. It's got to be a joke." 

The man assured the police officers it was anything but.

He explained to police that he accidentally locked himself into a small room connected to the machine while changing the lock. He didn't have his keycard or phone on him and was unable to contact any of the Bank of America employees inside.

Police ended up having to kick down the door to free the contractor, who has not yet been identified. Fortunately, the man wasn't hurt.

"Everyone is OK, but you will never see this in your life, that somebody was stuck in the ATM, it was just crazy," Olden said.

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