MINNEAPOLIS, MN — An 18-year-old badly hurt in a Monday night fall inside an abandoned Minneapolis grain elevator has opened his eyes, according to a CaringBridge update from his family.
Police said the teen fell nearly 20 stories after a group of teenagers and young adults went inside the building around 8:30 p.m. The injuries were described as life-threatening.
Family Says He Is Responding
The CaringBridge post said the teenager is still being sedated, but he wakes up when the medication is stopped. It described him as “showing signs of life.”
The family also said doctors told them they have “never seen somebody come back after such circumstances.” The update did not give more details about his condition.
Neighbors Cite Repeat Calls
People who live and work nearby said the teenager had been filming a social media video when he fell. They also said they have called city officials for years about the abandoned building and the people who climb it.
Residents described a long-running problem with so-called urban explorers using the site. The elevator has drawn repeated complaints because of the danger it poses.
Police See Ongoing Trespassing
Minneapolis police Public Information Officer Garrett Parten said officers have responded to more than a dozen calls to the silos this year. He said the city also logged about 100 urban exploring incidents so far this year in the First and Second precincts.
Parten said there were roughly 80 such reports in those precincts last year. The figures point to continued trespassing at the site despite repeated calls for action.
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