Police said the woman who broke the window told officers she had escaped from a nearby house.
SAGINAW, Mich. — A 911 call about a broken window led officers to a 58-year-old woman who said she had escaped from a nearby basement where her sister-in-law had held her against her will, police said.
The report first sounded like a property crime. Officers were sent to the 1600 block of Gilbert Street around 2 p.m. March 15 after a caller said an unknown woman had broken a window and remained outside. Police said the woman’s explanation changed the direction of the call within minutes. She told officers she broke the glass because she needed help and believed that damaging the window would force someone to call police.
The neighbor at the center of the call, Colton Ehlow, said the woman entered after shattering the window with a metal pipe. He said she immediately asked him to call police. Ehlow described her as frail, thin and much older-looking than her age. His account gave investigators an outside witness to the woman’s condition at the moment she surfaced. Police said the woman then told officers she had escaped from a nearby residence, where she had been kept in a basement for about two years by Tasha Beamon, her 48-year-old sister-in-law and caretaker.
The scene soon expanded from one damaged window to two houses and a much larger allegation. Police said officers and detectives went from the Gilbert Street call to the residence the woman identified. Inside, investigators said they found signs consistent with her account. They reported a locked basement door, a mattress and containers of urine. The woman told police she had little or no access to food, water, a bathroom or a shower. Detective Sgt. Jeff Doud said she told officers she was not fed very often and did not have access to water.
Police said the woman’s escape depended on a narrow opening in routine. She told officers someone was usually home, but she believed no one was there when she forced a door open and got out. Doud said that gave her the chance to leave. The woman’s route from the basement to the nearby window became the central timeline in the case. She escaped, reached another home, broke glass to draw attention and waited for police. That sequence, according to investigators, turned a vandalism complaint into a rescue and then into a felony investigation.
After officers contacted the woman, emergency responders took her to a hospital. Authorities said she was severely malnourished. Prosecutors alleged medical staff believed she could die if released without care. Police have not publicly named her or released details about her disability. They have described her as a vulnerable adult, and that description is part of the charge Beamon faces. The medical findings also gave investigators another form of evidence beyond witness statements and the basement scene. Her condition, police said, supported the allegation that she had been deprived of basic care over a long period.
Beamon was arrested April 2 after investigators reviewed the woman’s statements, the scene and other evidence. She is charged with unlawful imprisonment and first-degree vulnerable adult abuse. Police said Beamon admitted keeping the woman in the home and not allowing her to leave, but claimed she stayed in an upstairs bedroom. Investigators said that claim conflicted with what they found in the basement. Beamon was booked into the Saginaw County Jail, and a judge set bond at $100,000. Public reports did not clearly show whether she had entered a plea or had an attorney speaking for her.
The case now includes three separate locations in the public account: the basement where police said the woman was confined, the neighbor’s home where the window was broken and the hospital where she was treated. Each location added a different piece of the police theory. The basement provided the alleged confinement evidence. The neighbor’s home provided the escape point and a witness. The hospital provided a medical record of severe malnourishment. Prosecutors will likely rely on all three as they seek to move the case through preliminary proceedings.
Investigators also said they are looking at whether money played a role. Police believe Beamon may have confined the woman to collect her disability payments. Authorities have not publicly released payment amounts, benefit documents or records showing who had access to the money. They also have not said whether financial records could lead to more charges. For now, the alleged motive remains part of the police explanation but not a separate count in the charges publicly reported. The two announced counts focus on confinement and vulnerable adult abuse.
The neighborhood detail remains central because the case came to light only after the woman reached someone outside the home. Police have not said whether any earlier reports were made about her absence, condition or care. They also have not said whether neighbors had reason to suspect anyone was being held inside the nearby house. The alleged confinement took place in a residential area, but the public record does not show how visible the woman was before March 15 or whether anyone outside the home had contact with her during the period police described.
Police Chief Bob Ruth said officers and detectives did thorough work in securing charges tied to the allegations. The next stage is the court process, where prosecutors must present enough evidence for the case to continue. The woman’s recovery, Beamon’s custody status and any further investigative findings remain the main open points.
Author note: Last updated April 28, 2026.