Authorities in Luzerne County tried Thursday to evict a tenant who refused to leave a home that now has a new owner but what happened after the authorities got there is when things got interesting.
It was late last month when an Action 16 investigation explained how a Luzerne County man refused to leave a home even though the property had a new owner and he was handed eviction notices.
Authorities went Thursday to escort him from the property but it never happened.
Robert Holloway hasn't paid rent for a year-and-a-half and has taken advantage of crowded court dockets to fight eviction since his first notice in December, 2008.
Everything seemed in place for his rent-free stay to end Thursday afternoon but Holloway remains the legal tenant at the Salem Township home.
With signs reading "No Squatters" and "Haul Away Holloway," Jody Kuczenski prepared to celebrate the next step in moving her 65-year-old mother who owns the home in and moving out Robert Holloway.
"I'll let the sheriff do his job," Kuczenski said.
Deputies arrived with a judge's order for Holloway to leave immediately. No one answered the door so deputies went in.
Ten minutes later they came out to tell Jody Kuczenski Holloway was not there.
No way said onlookers, pointing to Holloway's truck parked outside the house.
Raychelle Steimer swears she saw Holloway peering out a front window five minutes before deputies arrived.
"He had a baseball cap on, light colored clothing. I saw him through the plastic. So he was here when we showed up here," said Steimer.
The contingent of deputies went back inside the house.
Deputies went to the second floor where it's sweltering. It feels like it's 100 degrees there. They went through all the rooms, every single crawl space and found no Bob Holloway.
They looked in the backyard, suspecting Holloway sneaked off into the woods moments before cops came calling but it appears the elusive tenant got away before anyone could serve the eviction papers.
That means Holloway, who fought the orders for a year and eight months, can still live in the house legally and the woman who owns the home, Elaine Yamkoski, is forced to continue her wait in a small Berwick apartment.
She still has to shell out monthly rent, unable to move into the home she bought to be near her daughter.
"I don't even want to call her. Not at all. She's going to be so disappointed," Kuczenski said.
Neighbors and authorities wonder where is Bob Holloway and how does he continue to avoid eviction?
"The snake got away one more time," Kuczenski added.
Jody Kuczenski is sure Holloway will return to the home soon but will leave before deputies can return with eviction papers.
Friday she will head to court and try to get an order to board up the house and have the truck towed. It will be another legal hurdle to clear before she can finally evict the man who seems to have mastered the art of fighting eviction.