

• Previous story: Police hunting 'mystery pooper' defecating on park slides

Ypsilanti’s children’s slides are free and clear of feces after the Ypsilanti Police recently identified a suspect in their hunt for the notorious "mystery pooper."

Ypsilanti Police Chief Tony DiGiusti confirmed the department made contact with an individual believed to be the “mystery pooper” who regularly defecated on the same slide in Prospect Park between November and April.

DiGiusti said there have been no further incidents since contact was made with the individual and he declined to provide any further details on the case. No charges were brought against the individual.

Council Member Pete Murdock, who is also head of the Friends of Prospect Park, said the suspect is a resident of a nearby halfway house. He said he isn’t sure what clients are housed there.

Feces were found on the slide so frequently that police set up a camera in a nearby tree to help catch what some city council members during the investigation dubbed the “mystery pooper.”

Council Member Brian Robb said he hopes "we can just put this behind us."

"This whole saga has generated a lot interest in Prospect Park from around the country. It's great that the police were able to put a stop to this just as the weather warmed up," he said.

Murdock, who represents Ward 3 in which the park is located, previously expressed amazement that the individual would commit the act during the bitterly cold winter months and described the defecations as “weird and deliberate.”

City department of public works employees were tasked with wiping down the slides.

In January, 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.”

Murdock said he believes the park slides will remain safe and sanitary.

"I think if the person is put out of commission in terms of what they were doing, they should be safe," Murdock said. “I haven’t heard of any incidents since all the to-do,” he said.

The mystery pooper became something of a local celebrity after The Ann Arbor News broke the story and it went viral on the Internet. Local band Black Jake and The Carnies wrote a song about the mystery pooper, a fake mystery pooper account popped up on Twitter and a billboard requesting residents "Do your civic doody" and "Help us catch the 'poopetrator'" appeared on Interstate 94.

"Let's just hope there aren't any copy cat crimes," Robb groaned.