79-year-old NC man spends hours locked inside Walmart after closing

Larry Todd, 79, said he went to a Walmart Neighborhood Market off Doby Bridge Road in South Carolina to buy dog food about 30 minutes before the store closed on July 20.

While searching for the food in a back corner of the store, he lost track of time. It wasn’t until he walked to the front of the store that he realized he was all alone.

“The place was shut down completely. I said, ‘Oh, I’m locked in,’” Todd said.

Todd thought someone from Walmart would have checked to make sure the store was empty before closing.

“That didn’t happen,” he said.

Todd said there also wasn’t a closing announcement over the store’s P.A. system. Todd was trapped inside without a cellphone to call for help.

“That really concerned me,” he said.

Two hours went by before Todd said an alarm at the front of the store finally went off. Fort Mill police arrived and, from the outside, didn’t know if Todd was locked in or had broken in to the store.

“I was interrogated by the police department. Of course, they have to make a report because I was in the store and wasn’t supposed to be,” Todd said. “They searched me and put handcuffs on me.”

Eventually, police escorted the 79-year-old home.

“I guess I didn’t look like a criminal. I hope I didn’t,” he said.

Todd went back to the store the next day to purchase the dog food.

Walmart has not responded to questions about whether or not proper closing procedures were followed before Todd became locked in the store.