A resident who is moving back into Birchwood Terrace months after the apartment building was evacuated says items were stolen from her suite while she was gone.
More than 250 tenants of the building on Portage Avenue in St. James were forced to live elsewhere after they were suddenly evacuated on May 9. The structure was deemed unsafe because of the deterioration of steel support columns in the underground parkade.
Ross, who first moved into Birchwood Terrace six years ago, said she found the door unlocked and items missing when checking on her apartment after moving out.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
When Debby Ross was visiting her apartment, she noticed on four occasions that the door was unlocked.
She told the Free Press on Thursday she felt “very invaded” after the incidents.
“Why was my door unlocked?” Ross asked.
Clothes that belonged to her late husband, Jack, were gone when she visited the apartment on Dec. 23, she said. Jack’s clothes were one of the only things of his that Ross has left.
She said she hopes whoever took the clothes needed the items badly.
“I’m very hurt,” Ross said.
When the evacuation order came in, she took Jack’s ashes, her two cats and some clothes with her.
When Ross was visiting her apartment, she noticed on four occasions that the door was unlocked.
Dirty dishes, cigarette butts and ashtrays were all over her apartment, she said. No one was around in her hallway working on repairs at the time.
“They can take anything out of my apartment,” Ross said, adding there are no cameras in her hallway.
Ross said she found meat and other food in the fridge had disappeared, furniture was moved and four of her bongs were gone when she checked the suite in July.
She said she thinks her place was “looted” and that “squatters” stayed there.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS
More than 250 tenants of Birchwood Terrace in St. James were forced to live elsewhere after they were suddenly evacuated on May 9.
Ross said she was “made me feel like a liar” when she reported the incident.
“It makes it hard to trust anyone.” Ross said. “To make it safe for everybody, we need new locks.”
Ross said she has been struggling with medical issues because of the stress of the past few months.
“It’s been a horror story,” said Ross, who will finish moving back in later this month. “It’s been hell.”
She said moving, along with her cats, five times in less than a year has been difficult, especially without a vehicle.
“Our life was really ripped apart,” she said. “I just want to go home.”
Birchwood Terrace is managed by Lakewood Agencies, which is owned by Ladco Co. Ltd. Ladco did not respond to the Free Press before deadline.
fpcity@freepress.mb.ca