Published: 1/22/2019 9:48:01 AM
GREENFIELD — Two people, an adult man and woman, were discovered dead in a tent behind McDonald’s on the Mohawk Trail Monday afternoon.
The Northwestern district attorney’s office said foul play is not suspected. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine the causes of their deaths.
Greenfield Police Department responded to an area near the Mohawk Trail with several cruisers around 4 p.m. Monday, and Massachusetts State Police were on the scene by early evening. The general area has been known to attract some homeless campers in the past. The incident is under investigation by the department’s lead detective, Sgt. Dan McCarthy, police said.
Multiple ambulances and fire personnel also responded to the incident.
The woods that first responders walked into was marked with a “Keep Out” sign pinned to a tree. There was an opening in the fence leading to a trail. Monday marked a brutally cold day, with temperatures hovering in the single digits, and real feel readings with the wind chill coming in the negative teens. Overnight temperatures plummeted into the negatives, a day after nearly a foot of snow fell over Franklin County.
The ServiceNet homeless shelter on Wells Street is currently accepting anyone given the current weather. The shelter is above capacity, with 25 people instead of the typical cap of 20, according to ServiceNet Vice President of Communication Amy Swisher.
The overnight shelter’s typical hours are overlooked when the temperature drops into the teens, and people are allowed in at any time of the day for refuge from the extreme weather. The shelter is in need of pillows, blankets, socks, winter outerwear and towels for its clients, Swisher said.