Woman Caught Breaking Into Closed Belle Isle Zoo to Take Photos of Child’s Prom

It was the perfect plan, with the perfect escape – until her son’s prom photos started being shared.

An unidentified local woman was cited for trespassing at the fenced and gated zoo at Belle Isle State Park, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Law Enforcement Division reported. The reason for the invasion? To use the zoo’s dilapidated buildings as a cool backdrop for your son and girlfriend’s prom photos.

The incident occurred in mid-August, according to the most recent biweekly report of DNR law enforcement activities posted on the agency’s website.

According to the report by DNR conservationists Martin Lawrence and Dan Walzak, the mother, when contacted, admitted everything and said that she was the one who took the photos of the dance. “The person stated that they found information online about the Belle Isle Zoo (as well as other abandoned buildings in the area) and explained that the website also included information about how to ‘sneak’ into the different locations,” the officers’ report states. .

“The victim admitted that he knew entering the zoo was illegal, but wanted to use the zoo as a photo location,” the report states. “After explaining the dangers of being in the abandoned zoo and the fact that it was illegal, the interviewee stated that she understood perfectly, taking full responsibility.” She then received a citation for trespassing.

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DNR plans to demolish dilapidated zoo

Belle Isle hosted the Detroit Zoo from 1910 until it moved to its current location in Royal Oak in 1956. The island’s facilities were then converted into a children’s zoo, later named Safariland, featuring an eclectic mix of animals. The increasingly cash-strapped city of Detroit eventually closed the zoo in the early 2000s, and the complex’s 20 or so buildings, boardwalk and other amenities began to crumble.

The DNR took over management of Belle Isle as a state park in February 2014 when Detroit entered bankruptcy proceedings. The old zoo remained closed and fenced. The DNR announced plans last May to demolish the zoo complex’s buildings and restore the area to nature trails and passive facilities.

“The former Belle Isle Zoo property has been fenced off, closed off and signed ‘No Trespassing’ for some time, but people often go there,” said Tom Bissett, DNR urban district supervisor.

Trespassers include people looking for “ruin porn,” committing vandalism and spreading graffiti, he said.

‘You’re putting yourself in danger’

“In this particular case, officers were following photos posted online,” Bissett said.

The area is extremely dangerous, with broken glass, broken concrete, missing manhole covers and an old boardwalk missing boards and parts of guardrails, he said. There are many places that fall into the Detroit River or pits from old fallen trees, boards and other debris.

“It’s very important that people don’t go back there,” Bissett said. “You’re putting yourself in danger, and if something happens, you’re now putting first responders in danger. That’s if we find out you’re there. You could go back there, and if something terrible happened, we’d (maybe) never know.”

The irony, Bissett said, is that Belle Isle has countless fantastic backdrops for proms or similar types of photos. “But the Belle Isle Zoo is off limits,” he said.

Contact Keith Matheny: [email protected].

(The title has been updated in this story.)

This article originally appeared on the Detroit Free Press: Woman Caught Breaking Into Closed Belle Isle Zoo to Take Photos of Child’s Prom