Inside the Terrifying Moment a Student Who Suspected a Ghost Found a Man Holed Up in Her Closet

The story has made national headlines: Maddie, a junior at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, had noticed mysterious handprints on the bathroom walls of her apartment and that items of her clothing were missing.

At a loss for an explanation, she and her roommates began to think there was a ghost in the off-campus home — until she learned there was allegedly a man holed up inside her closet.

In an interview with local TV station Fox 8, Maddie described those terrifying moments the bizarre truth came into focus, beginning when she heard rattling in her closet that “sounded like a raccoon.”

“I’m like, ‘Who’s there?’ And somebody answers ‘Me,’ ” Maddie, who is identified in reports only by her first name, told the station. “He’s like ‘Oh, my name is Drew.'”

Police allege “Drew” is 30-year-old Andrew Clyde Swofford, who now faces multiple charges, according to a spokesman for the Greensboro Police Department, who confirms to PEOPLE Maddie’s allegations.

She tried making an emergency call on her Apple watch, but it didn’t work, she told WFMY.

As she placed her hand on the closet door, “I could feel him starting to push the door open so I was like I guess I have to open the door,” she told the station.

She opened the door, and sitting on the floor was a tall, lanky man with greasy hair, wearing her clothing, shoes, and socks. He also had stuffed a bag with her belongings.

She said he begged her not to call the police, and for about 10 minutes, the two talked.

“He was telling me everything about his life and basically how he got in my closet,” Maddie said.

All the while, Maddie was texting with her boyfriend, who was on his way to her apartment.

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Hayley Fixler@HayleyFixlerTV

This is Andrew Swofford. A UNCG junior got home on Saturday, to find him in her closet, wearing her clothes. @myfox8

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Maddie told Fox 8 she tried keeping the man distracted.

“He tries on my hat. He goes in the bathroom and looks in the mirror and then is like, ‘You’re really pretty, can I give you a hug?'” she recounted to Fox 8. “But he never touched me.”

She believes Swofford had been in her apartment before Saturday, even though she never saw him.

Swofford left as soon as Maddie’s boyfriend arrived.

“My closet, it stinks,” she explained. “Every time I go in [my room] there’s a bad vibe. I’m just ready to leave.”

Maddie has since found a new place to live, according to reports.

According to Fox 8, Swofford had already faced 14 felony charges including larceny and identity theft before he was allegedly spotted in Maddie’s closet. After Saturday, he was charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering, WFMY reports.

He is currently in Guilford County Jail on $26,000 bond.

It was not immediately clear if he has entered a plea to any of the charges against him or retained an attorney who could comment on his behalf.