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Police Remove Couple From Heritage Port in Wheeling

Photo by Alan Olson Wheeling police on Thursday escort a couple from the playground area at Heritage Port.

Wheeling police removed Thursday a man and woman from Heritage Port who had set up an impromptu shelter there.

Wheeling police escorted the couple from the playground area after at least one concerned citizen reported that someone was lying under a blanket that had been spread over the playground equipment. The couple declined to give their names.

Andy Garber, who was watching his granddaughter, Addison, play at the park said he saw the playground equipment was covered with a blanket. He said he assumed at first that children were playing under it, until he saw a pair of adult legs sticking out from beneath it.

“They weren’t bothering anybody, they were just sleeping,” said Garber. “They look young, not like anyone that’s going to hurt anybody.

“They were just taking a nap,” he said.

Garber said someone else who was visiting the playground had apparently called the police. He said he didn’t feel immediately threatened by their presence, but also said he kept a close eye on them while they were around his granddaughter.

“It’s not a good hang-out,” he said. “Initially, I was concerned, but after I got a look at them, I wasn’t intimidated.”

The man and woman declined to comment, as did the officers at the scene who took them out of the park.

One of the officers asked Garber if the people were homeless, but he voiced his doubts.

“They were just snoozing — snores and everything,” he said.

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