Current:Home > Contact-usHomeless woman was living inside Michigan rooftop store sign with computer and coffee maker-InfoLens
Homeless woman was living inside Michigan rooftop store sign with computer and coffee maker
View Date:2024-12-23 15:46:24
Contractors curious about an extension cord on the roof of a Michigan grocery store made a startling discovery: A 34-year-old woman was living inside the business sign, with enough space for a computer, printer and coffee maker, police said.
“She was homeless,” Officer Brennon Warren of the Midland Police Department said Thursday. “It’s a story that makes you scratch your head, just somebody living up in a sign.”
The woman, whose name was not released, told police she had a job elsewhere but had been living inside the Family Fare sign for roughly a year, Warren said. She was found April 23.
Midland, best known as the global home of Dow Inc., is 130 miles (209 kilometers) north of Detroit.
The Family Fare store is in a retail strip with a triangle-shaped sign at the top of the building. The sign structure, probably 5 feet (1.5 meter) wide and 8 feet (2.4 meters) high, has a door and is accessible from the roof, Warren said.
“There was some flooring that was laid down. A mini desk,” he said. “Her clothing. A Keurig coffee maker. A printer and a computer — things you’d have in your home.”
The woman was able to get electricity through a power cord plugged into an outlet on the roof, Warren said.
There was no sign of a ladder. Warren said it’s possible the woman made her way to the roof by climbing up elsewhere behind the store or other retail businesses.
“I honestly don’t know how she was getting up there. She didn’t indicate, either,” he said.
A spokesperson for SpartanNash, the parent company of Family Fare, said store employees responded “with the utmost compassion and professionalism.”
“Ensuring there is ample safe, affordable housing continues to be a widespread issue nationwide that our community needs to partner in solving,” Adrienne Chance said, declining further comment.
Warren said the woman was cooperative and quickly agreed to leave. No charges were pursued.
“We provided her with some information about services in the area,” the officer said. “She apologized and continued on her way. Where she went from there, I don’t know.”
The director of a local nonprofit that provides food and shelter assistance said Midland — which has a population 42,000 — needs more housing for low-income residents.
“From someone who works with the homeless, part of me acknowledges she was really resourceful,” said Saralyn Temple of Midland’s Open Door. “Obviously, we don’t want people resorting to illegal activity to find housing. There are much better options.”
___
Follow Ed White on X at https://twitter.com/edwritez
veryGood! (59787)
Related
- RHOBH's Erika Jayne Reveals Which Team She's on Amid Kyle Richards, Dorit Kemsley Feud
- Target's 2023 top toy list with Disney and FAO Schwarz exclusives; many toys under $25
- How Ohio's overhaul of K-12 schooling became a flashpoint
- Tropical Storm Philippe pelts northeast Caribbean with heavy rains and forces schools to close
- Jack Del Rio leaving Wisconsin’s staff after arrest on charge of operating vehicle while intoxicated
- Late night TV is back! How Fallon, Kimmel, Colbert handle a post-WGA strike world
- Russell Brand faces a second UK police investigation for harassment, stalking
- Passport processing times reduced by 2 weeks, State Department says
- Shawn Mendes quest for self-discovery is a quiet triumph: Best songs on 'Shawn' album
- 'Wild 'N Out' star Jacky Oh's cause of death revealed
Ranking
- Avril Lavigne’s Ex Mod Sun Is Dating Love Is Blind Star Brittany Wisniewski, Debuts Romance With a Kiss
- 2 Indianapolis officers plead not guilty after indictment for shooting Black man asleep in car
- In 'Our Strangers,' life's less exciting aspects are deemed fascinating
- 2024 Subaru Crosstrek Wilderness lives up to its promises, on and off-road
- Oil Industry Asks Trump to Repeal Major Climate Policies
- Woman, 73, attacked by bear while walking near US-Canada border with husband and dog
- Sheriff Paul Penzone of Arizona’s Maricopa County says he’s stepping down a year early in January
- Tori Spelling's Oldest Babies Are All Grown Up in High School Homecoming Photo
Recommendation
-
Army veteran reunites with his K9 companion, who served with him in Afghanistan
-
Judge affirms Arizona can no longer exclude gender-affirming care from state health plans
-
Sleater-Kinney announce new album ‘Little Rope’ — shaped by loss and grief — will arrive in 2024
-
Iowa promises services to kids with severe mental and behavioral needs after lawsuit cites failures
-
Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul stirs debate: Is this a legitimate fight?
-
Washington state minimum wage moving up to $16.28 per hour
-
Selena Gomez Addresses Dua Lipa Feud Rumors After Unfollowing Her on Instagram
-
2 Army soldiers killed, 12 injured in crash of military transport vehicle in Alaska