VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — Carolanne Park is normally a place where families in the Carolanne Farms neighborhood in Virginia Beach can go to relax as their children get their energy out.
But recently, residents made a disgusting discovery.
“Two weeks ago was the first time that I found bowel movements at my workplace on [the door and the fence], and then the next following week, we found it on the playground here under the swing sets,” said Stacy Guckert who lives and works in the area.
Guckert said she was shocked to find someone defecated on her nearby door and fence.
“I cleaned it up myself,” she said. “I had to bleach everything down and dispose of it.”
About a week after she cleaned up the mess, she said she looked out her window and saw quite a few wipes under the swings. She said she walked over, realized the wipes were used, and then saw “runny stool” under the swings.
“It’s very gross,” Guckert said. “I’m concerned about the children that come here.”
Guckert checked her security camera on the days and times the feces were found. She said all the videos showed was a man she didn’t recognize.
In that same week on the playground, she said she and a co-worker looked in a cubbyhole near the slides and found a man asleep inside. Guckert said. Again, it looked like the same man.
She said over the last 17 years, she has noticed a growing problem with homelessness in the Carolanne Farms neighborhood. What she said she really wants is to get the man help.
So she reached out to the city. She said workers quickly came and sanitized the swing area.
“They left me a card saying if I saw that particular person, to please contact them because they want to reach out to them because there was a place on Witchduck [Road] to help them, to get them the services they might need,” she said.
Virginia Beach Police said they’ve responded to Carolanne Park “four times in recent weeks for reports concerning a homeless person,” but they were not able to find anyone. However, they said they partner with the Housing Resource Center to try and help the homeless community.
So who should you contact in a situation like this?
Police said if you’re witnessing a crime, contact them immediately. If there’s a broader community concern, each precinct has a community liaison officer to contact.
“The homeless people, it’s not their fault most of the time, but I think they need some kind of help or some kind of assistance if they can,” Guckert said.
WAVY.com spoke with Councilman David Hutcheson, who represents Carolanne Farms. He said local officials will continue to keep an eye on Carolanne Park, but in the meantime, if you live in Virginia Beach and notice a problem with the homeless, Hutcheson suggested contacting the Housing Resource Center so homeless outreach can try to intervene and offer services. He also suggested reaching out to your city council representative to get things moving quickly.
Guckert said there has not been another incident on the playground, nor has she seen the man since police got involved and the city cleaned up the mess.
