The discovery of the body of a Seattle mother stuffed into a suitcase at a homeless encampment highlights the dangers inherent in encampments across the country, experts told Fox News Digital.
Shannon Reeder, 37, had been missing since November 2023, Fox News Digital previously reported. On September 27, police officers who were removing tents and trash from a homeless encampment in Seattle's Dr. Jose Rizal Park area found her body in a “large suitcase” near a pile of trash. I discovered that there is.
Law enforcement and aid workers were clearing the area after a separate incident in which a man was shot and injured near a tent. law and crime Reported.
“Detectives are working with those who knew her to compile a timeline of her actions prior to her death,” the Washington State Patrol said in an Oct. 4 statement.
Missing woman found dead in suitcase at Seattle homeless camp
Shannon Reeder, 37, was found dead in a suitcase on September 27 at an encampment in Seattle's Dr. Jose Rizal Park area. (Shannon Reader/Instagram)
“Detectives are continuing to investigate the death of Shannon Leader and are seeking information from anyone who has seen or had contact with Shannon Leader in the past 12 months. What happened to Shannon? We are seeking information from anyone who may have information that may help us find out who was involved in her untimely death, or who may have information that may help us find out what happened to Shannon Reeder.” If you would like to know more, please call Detective John Ford at 425-401-7742 or Detective Ivan Sergeyev at 425-401-771,” police continued.
Investigators do not know whether the leader died at the camp or elsewhere.
According to the National Institutes of Health, the incidence of violent crime is 40 times higher in the homeless population. According to the agency, non-violent crimes are 27 times more common.
Washington state has closed 47 camps in five counties starting in 2022, according to seattle times.
According to the Washington State Department of Commerce, there are more than 31,000 homeless people living in the state, according to a 2024 point-in-time count conducted one night in January. In 2023, there were 14,149 homeless people living in King County, where Seattle is located. It has the third largest homeless population in the United States after New York City and Los Angeles County.
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Berkeley, California, is being sued by multiple companies for failing to clear homeless encampments. (Superior Court of Alameda County, California)
Mark Powell, a former reserve police officer with the San Diego Police Department who has criticized the city's response to homeless camps, said the discovery of Shannon Reeder's body underscores the importance of camp management and oversight.
“We have campgrounds all over Washington, California. Every state has campgrounds and campgrounds have rules and regulations…None of those rules apply.” [in homeless encampments]” he told FOX News Digital.
“They are free to do whatever they want, and as you can see, they are doing that. Sadly, one of the things they have done is decided to turn the campsite into a temporary cemetery, where Shannon “They took the leader…someone put her in the grave. They threw out her suitcase and left her to die or rot in the middle of the camp,” he continued. “You would never see something like this anywhere else, you just can’t bury people in your backyard.
“We live in a civil society. Rules should apply uniformly to the people. Select groups are not allowed to enter only prominent lands. The government could essentially land a remote-controlled car on Mars and send the photos back to us, while 250,000 homeless people across the country When you ask them to take it off the streets, they throw up their hands and say, “This is too complicated.” ”
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Near downtown Seattle, on the edge of the freeway along Interstate 5, lives a homeless community of tents nicknamed “Treeline.” (Melina Mara/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Powell said the city of Seattle should be responsible for cleaning encampments regularly “rather than every four or five months” to keep the homeless and surrounding communities safe.
The city of Seattle did not respond to a request for comment at press time.
Scott Silverman, a San Diego-based crisis counselor who works with homeless veterans and is the author of several books on addiction and the opioid epidemic, told Fox News Digital that life in the camps “has been a challenge for everyone. It's very unsafe…especially for women, children and children.” This is because older people are easy targets. ”
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denver homeless camp (Hyun Chang/Denver Post)
”[Encampments have] This is a serious problem because some people lack life skills. There are people who don't want to follow the rules. There are people who have really deep, untreated trauma. And they don't have those services in camp,” Silverman said.
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Homeless encampments are not only dangerous, but also a health hazard. According to the report, between 2016 and 2018, more than 700 hepatitis A infections occurred in California due to homelessness, infected feces and drug use in encampments without proper plumbing. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Diseases not seen since the Middle Ages, including typhus fever and tuberculosis, are spreading through the country's homeless shelters and encampments, according to a government study. atlantic ocean.
