Vacant homes a haven for homeless on Oregon-Idaho line

MACKENZIE MCCREARY, The Argus Observer
7:28 a.m. PST March 7, 2016

ONTARIO, Ore. (AP) — The paint is chipping, the wood is cracking and there is no glass in the windows. The inside of the single-story house is dark, but through the window, wallpaper is peeling off in sheets and leaves have gathered in the corners.

Abandoned homes pepper Malheur and Payette counties both in the cities and out in more secluded areas. But they bring more potential problems with them than the image of a boarded-up eyesore ...

"Sometimes these can be homes that were foreclosed on and previous owners were evicted, but then it's stuck in this period with the bank and it sits there for more than a year until it gets on the market to sell," Payette County Sheriff's Lt. Andy Creech said ...

In 2014 and 2015, bodies were found on two separate occasions at a duplex located at 612 N.W. Second St. The first was Michael Heck, of Ontario, who was homeless and was found in July 2014 after his body had decomposed beyond recognition. The second was Rand Nilsson, another homeless man who had been known to law enforcement for several years ...

http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2016/03/07/vacant-homes-haven-homeless-oregon-idaho-line/81430706/