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Park City police find homeless people at City Park

Four people, at least three of them known to be homeless, were seen outside Miners Hospital in early October, drawing the attention of the Park City Police Department.

The department fielded a complaint at a little bit before 5 p.m. on Oct. 4 of four people on the porch of the historic building on the edge of City Park. Miners Hospital is a community building that Sundance Film Festival organizers occupy from Sept. 1 until March 1.

Phil Kirk, a police captain, said an officer found the four people at the nearby City Park pavilion. Jay Randall, a police sergeant, said three of the people are known to be homeless. The Police Department has interacted with the fourth person as well, he said.



Randall said the four know each other. Each of them told the police they had somewhere to stay that night as the temperature dropped. Randall acknowledged it is unusual for four people who are believed to be homeless to be found in the same location.

Homelessness is not widespread in the Park City area, but the Police Department occasionally receives reports of campsites or homeless encampments. There was a string of cases late in the summer.



Randall said police officers who encounter homeless people offer information about services and offer a bus ticket to Salt Lake City, where there is a homeless shelter. There is not a shelter in Park City or surrounding Summit County.

The four people seen outside Miners Hospital have rejected assistance, Randall said.

The Police Department in early October also received a report logged as suspected vagrancy. The department received the report at 9:43 p.m. on Oct. 1 on Deer Valley Drive. Public police logs did not provide details. Homelessness cases are sometimes reported as vagrancy.

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