A 34-year-old Michigan woman lived in a supermarket for about a year, where her small apartment was furnished with a desk and computer printer, a Keurig coffee machine, a houseplant and a storage space for food.
The unidentified squatter’s rent-free domicile was built behind the sign of a Family Fare store she entered through a small door accessible through the building’s rooftop, according to The Associated Press.
“She essentially made it home,” Midland Police Officer Brennon Warren told MLive.com.
The crafty settler was able to draw electricity from a power cord plugged into a rooftop outlet. Contractors working on the roof reportedly stumbled upon the unauthorized Midland, Mich., apartment in late April after spotting the extension cord.
The sign serving as the alleged vagrant’s front wall overlooks the central Michigan grocery store parking lot. A view from outside gave no indication anyone was living behind that big red-and-white signage, which stands roughly 8 feet tall and 5 feet wide.
The woman, who told authorities she has a job, declined housing assistance. Police told her not to return to the supermarket, where staffers now know her as “The Roof Ninja,” according to MLive.com.
It’s not clear where the evicted woman is from or plans to move to next.
Police said Family Fare wants to make sure its former tenant is reunited with the belongings she kept in her living nook. Officer Warren called the situation “unique.”
With News Wire Services
