The unidentified man finally climbed down safely just before noon, having transfixed the city and the Internet for 25 hours while police closed adjacent streets and tried to coax him down.
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Man goes viral after staying in tree for 25 hours
Man who hid at the top of an 80ft city center tree finally came down after 25 hours.
Man goes viral after staying in tree for 25 hours
Spectators breathed a sigh of relief when the man eventually decided to climb down from the tree.
Negotiators tried unsuccessfully for hours to talk the man down from the tree, instead, they appeared to further frustrate the man who threw apples, branches and pine cones at them.
Police told the Seattle Times that they were concerned about the man’s mental health and did not want to rush the rescue lest it jeopardized his safety.
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The tweet was just part of the online commotion the incident sparked, with new Twitter accounts dedicated to it and the hashtag #ManInTree trending on Twitter and Facebook. A local TV station live-streamed video of the man as he dozed, shouted and knocked around a stick.
When he climbed down after 25 hours, he was placed on a gurney and taken to a waiting ambulance. The as-yet unidentified man climbed to the top of the sequoia tree right in the middle of downtown Seattle at approximately 11 a.m (local time) on Tuesday.
Many passers-by, seeming bemused by the man's antics, pulled out their cellphones Wednesday to snap pictures of his silhouette, accentuated by a long, bushy beard, against the gray morning sky.
A rescue effort was quickly launched, the street was shut down, and firefighters attended the scene.
Police said they know who the man is but did not release his identity.
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Reasons for the drama remained unclear.
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