This story was news to us when we received the following email yesterday afternoon:
"I was just wondering if you knew anything about the “peeping tom” reports at the Edgewater Apartments recently. There were signs posted on the doors on or about Dec 18th alerting tenants and visitors. I didn’t see anything in your Blog and wanted to know if there was anything to this, as I drop my kids there for playdates and was concerned. You seem pretty tuned into the happenings in Madison Park. ;-)
Thanks,
Concerned Mom"
We happened to be out of town when we received this email, but within five minutes of our return to the Park we learned that the Peeping Tom story is, unfortunately, all too true. It just so happened that a resident of The Edgewater was jogging by our house as we arrived back home, and she stopped to relate the following story:
It seems that notices about the threat were posted by Edgewater management sometime last month, so residents were alerted to be on their guard. She, however, did not personally know anyone who had seen the voyeur, so she wasn't sure how seriously to take the warnings. But when she went to open her curtains one morning during the holidays she was shocked to discover a man standing outside her window evidently attempting to look into her apartment. She said she immediately called 911, and several police units quickly responded. Though a search was made of the grounds, the perpetrator was not apprehended.
Our informant told us that while she was giving her story to the police, other residents, seeing the police presence, began coming forward to report suspicious incidents that they had witnessed over the past few weeks. She said it quickly became evident that her Peeping Tom incident was part of a wider pattern of activity at the apartment complex.
The Edgewater Apartments, located at 2411 42nd Avenue E., is a 22-building, 316-unit complex which sits on 12 acres of prime waterfront real estate at the northern extremity of Madison Park. Completed in 1939, the Edgewater is home to an eclectic mix of university students, retirees, and urban professionals (young or otherwise). It's known for its homey atmosphere, lack of modern amenities (such as dishwashers and air conditioning), and too few available parking spaces. If anything, the Edgewater's crime rate is even lower than for Madison Park as a whole, with a few car prowl incidents reported and occasional cases of theft. Each of the buildings in the complex has a secure front door accessible by punching in the appropriate code.
We've been told that there were at least two previous incidents over the last few weeks involving a probable voyeur at the Edgewater. In the first case, a resident walking outside noticed someone standing and peering into an apartment unit, but the man ran when spotted. He was described as tall, youngish and wearing a hat with a "W" on it. In the other incident, a resident saw a man dressed all in black lurking near one of the apartment buildings at 6:30 in the morning. He also ran when spotted.
Unfortunately, though we heard directly about the perpetrator from one of the victims yesterday, we did not have our journalistic hat on at the time and failed to ask for a description of the guy. Our bad. We invite any Edgewater resident who's aware of these Peeping Tom incidents to provide us with further details (you may click on Comments below to leave feedback). Because of the holiday, we were unable to connect with the police to get the incident report on the most recent invasion of privacy at the Edgewater.
[Editorial Aside: This first posting of the New Year is the 500th story we've "published" since Madison Park Blogger was inaugurated in April 2009. Note: the noir-like graphics used in this posting are culled from the internet and are not actual depictions of voyeuristic activity in Madison Park.]
It seems that notices about the threat were posted by Edgewater management sometime last month, so residents were alerted to be on their guard. She, however, did not personally know anyone who had seen the voyeur, so she wasn't sure how seriously to take the warnings. But when she went to open her curtains one morning during the holidays she was shocked to discover a man standing outside her window evidently attempting to look into her apartment. She said she immediately called 911, and several police units quickly responded. Though a search was made of the grounds, the perpetrator was not apprehended.
Our informant told us that while she was giving her story to the police, other residents, seeing the police presence, began coming forward to report suspicious incidents that they had witnessed over the past few weeks. She said it quickly became evident that her Peeping Tom incident was part of a wider pattern of activity at the apartment complex.
The Edgewater Apartments, located at 2411 42nd Avenue E., is a 22-building, 316-unit complex which sits on 12 acres of prime waterfront real estate at the northern extremity of Madison Park. Completed in 1939, the Edgewater is home to an eclectic mix of university students, retirees, and urban professionals (young or otherwise). It's known for its homey atmosphere, lack of modern amenities (such as dishwashers and air conditioning), and too few available parking spaces. If anything, the Edgewater's crime rate is even lower than for Madison Park as a whole, with a few car prowl incidents reported and occasional cases of theft. Each of the buildings in the complex has a secure front door accessible by punching in the appropriate code.
We've been told that there were at least two previous incidents over the last few weeks involving a probable voyeur at the Edgewater. In the first case, a resident walking outside noticed someone standing and peering into an apartment unit, but the man ran when spotted. He was described as tall, youngish and wearing a hat with a "W" on it. In the other incident, a resident saw a man dressed all in black lurking near one of the apartment buildings at 6:30 in the morning. He also ran when spotted.
Unfortunately, though we heard directly about the perpetrator from one of the victims yesterday, we did not have our journalistic hat on at the time and failed to ask for a description of the guy. Our bad. We invite any Edgewater resident who's aware of these Peeping Tom incidents to provide us with further details (you may click on Comments below to leave feedback). Because of the holiday, we were unable to connect with the police to get the incident report on the most recent invasion of privacy at the Edgewater.
[Editorial Aside: This first posting of the New Year is the 500th story we've "published" since Madison Park Blogger was inaugurated in April 2009. Note: the noir-like graphics used in this posting are culled from the internet and are not actual depictions of voyeuristic activity in Madison Park.]
As we were victims of Sheehan in 2003 we got together with all of our neighbors and community members and made a loud noise about his presence in our neighborhood. We created stronger neighborhood watches and telephone trees. It seemed to work. No one should be exposed to this man. I implore everyone to report sitings to the police as the more reports the police hear the more they can see behavioral patterns and hopefully arrest him. Lastly as we walked out the door or back inside we found ourselves to be more conscious of our immediate surroundings. Hope this helps! PS Perhaps we might think about distributing this article to your neighbors and friends. A folded flyer of the article might be appropriate to distribute as well. Again, if he knows that his community is aware of his presence he will leave.
ReplyDeleteOkay, I admit that there are at times obvious things that just sail right past me, but is there a huge piece of the puzzle missing here?
ReplyDeleteI read the posting about ten times, thinking I had missed the identification and maybe a photo of the suspect, but came up empty time after time.
Now I read that someone has identified the suspect by last name, knows he is living in the area and is committing these crimes at Edgewater. I also hear I am supposed to be on the lookout and report him when I see him?
Who?
The reference to Sheehan is to a notorious stalker in the neighborhood. We covered his return to the general area in a previous posting (http://madisonparkblogger.blogspot.com/2009/12/bad-actor-returns.html). No one has connected Mr. Sheehan, as far as we know, with the recent voyeur incidents.
ReplyDeleteWell, the above comment makes a little more sense now. I also see now that there is news in the MP Times of his recent activities in the Montlake neighborhood only a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.madisonparktimes.com/main.asp?SubSectionID=284&ArticleID=28318&SectionID=26
Pay attention, people and don't be afraid to call the police. Let them figure out what to do about the call, but definitely make it if you see anything suspicious in the neighborhood. Thanks for the background, Bryan.
Thank you posting the information. Be alert, report any suspicious activity, assist in informing any neighbors who may not know about the situation.
ReplyDeleteAs usual, Bryan gives us great information about something in Madison Park. For instance, it is great to know when the Edgewater was built. It may not have dishwashers, but it is indeed a charming looking place.
ReplyDelete