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Crackdown Targets Trespassers At Closed Sugar Loaf Ski Resort

CEDAR, Mich. (WWJ/AP) - Authorities say they plan to crack down on trespassers and vandals who have been causing damage at a shuttered northern Michigan ski resort.

California developer Jeff Katofsky last year bought the once-popular Sugar Loaf — located in Cedar, northwest of Traverse City — announcing plans to turn it into a year-round high-end resort in the coming years. He told the Traverse City Record-Eagle people are breaking windows and "tearing things apart."

Leelanau County Sheriff Mike Borkovich says trespassing laws will be "strongly enforced" after more than a dozen damage reports this year.  He said that while previous owners were more interested in issuing warnings, the vandalism is "out of control" even while the new owner had had workers on site. 

In a Facebook post, the sheriff's office said it's received reports of people trespassing on the old ski hill, complex grounds and buildings. Several new signs and sign posts have been destroyed by trespassers, officials said, and people are continuing to enter the structures which are currently unsafe for anyone to be in or around. 

The sheriff's office warns that "no trespassing" signs are posted, and those breaking the law will be subject to prosecution.

Sugar Loaf, which closed in 2000, was once was Leelanau County's largest employer. It includes a golf course, lodging and an airstrip.

© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 

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