Prospect_Park_slides copy.jpg

A "miscreant" has been using the Prospect Park slides as a toilet.

(Tom Perkins | For The Ann Arbor News)

Who has been defecating on children's slides in Ypsilanti’s Prospect Park for the past five to six months?

Ypsilanti police and city officials are hunting for the person officials have described as the “mystery pooper” as warmer weather approaches.

Officials have discovered feces on the slides so frequently that police installed a hidden camera to try to capture an image of the act.

Council Member Pete Murdock, who is also the head of the Friends of Prospect Park, described the act as “weird and deliberate.” He said he first received a call about the issue more than five months ago and the culprit struck as recently as early March.

Department of Public Works employees are supposed to be checking the slides daily and cleaning up any human waste, Murdock said, and the suspect appears to be using the slide only at night.

In January, Ypsilanti police Chief Tony DeGiusti sent a communication out to YPD officers about the incidents.

“We have a problem in Prospect Park with a miscreant that does not understand the difference between a children’s playground slide and a toilet,” the email stated. “Apparently this extremely misguided individual feels the need to defecate on the slide despite the cold weather. This has been an ongoing problem at this location. Please make frequent checks in the area and record them on your daily log.”

DeGiusti did not return calls from The Ann Arbor News and City Manager Ralph Lange declined to comment.

“We most definitely need to get this under control before school (recess) and park season starts,” Murdock said. “It’s hard to deal with because it’s so unbelievable to begin with. When somebody called me and told me what happened I said ‘What? You gotta be kidding me!”

Murdock said the Friends of the Prospect Park may stake out the park as temperatures warm and the nights grow shorter.

He said he has encouraged staff and residents to contact him every time defecation is discovered so he can determine if there’s a pattern in regards to a schedule.

“We need to get him or her and get them the help they need,” Murdock said.

Tom Perkins is a freelance reporter for The Ann Arbor News.