A woman who lived inside a sign on the roof of a Michigan supermarket told police officers who found her that it was an “old safe place.”
The 34-year-old woman, whose identity has not been released, was found by police on April 23 in an attic inside the Family Fare sign.
The woman had lived there for more than a year and had with her a coffee maker, a computer, bedding, a telephone and even a printer, police said.
The panel was estimated to be approximately 5 feet (1.5 m) wide and 8 feet (2.4 m) high and features a door accessible from the roof.
When asked how she found the space, she said it was an “old safe place” known to her family and secret to most others.
“Not anymore,” she remarked after police found her.
She did not explain why she had lived there for over a year.
The woman, who appeared dressed in black clothing and with ski goggles perched on her head, had been given the nickname “roof ninja”, a police officer joked.
“Tell me that’s not cool,” they told the woman.
“That’s true,” she replied.
The woman lived inside the panel for about a year. Photo: AP
When she asked the officers how they got to the roof, one of them replied: “Ladder.” We are not roof ninjas. »
Police were called to the store when contractors working on the roof followed an extension to the shelter. The woman was inside when two officers asked her to open a small door on the back of the sign.
“I honestly don’t know how she got up there.”
After the exchange, Brennon Warren of the Midland Police Department said, “I honestly don’t know how she got up there.” She didn’t indicate it either,” he said.
There were no signs of a ladder, so it’s possible the woman made her way to the roof by climbing elsewhere behind the store or other retail businesses, he said.
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The woman told police she had a job elsewhere and asked to call her employer and get a truck to store her belongings, but the officers said no, making it clear that store staff would remove the belongings and would give him back.
“There was flooring that had been laid. A mini-desk. His clothes. A Keurig coffee maker. A printer and a computer – things you would have in your home,” Officer Warren added.
The woman was able to get electricity through a power cord plugged into an outlet on the roof, he said.
Police said the woman was cooperative and quickly agreed to leave. No charges were laid and she was provided with information about local services in the area.
“She apologized and moved on,” Mr Warren said. “Where she went from there, I don’t know.”
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A spokesperson for SpartanNash, Family Fare’s parent company, said store employees responded “with the utmost compassion and professionalism.”
“Ensuring sufficient safe and affordable housing continues to be a widespread problem across the country and one that our community must come together to solve,” they added.
