A Family of Nine, A Colony of Cats, And A Dangerous Building That Can't Be Ignored...
With winter approaching, a deteriorating Macon home at 207 Butler St. raises serious safety concerns for a neighboring family, while an estimated 20 or more cats and other animals shelter inside the derelict building. Removing the building may be the easy part. Getting everyone out safely is another matter.
By R. Dominique | Macon Moonline Investigates
PUBLIC SAFETY WARNING: The exterior and interior of 207 Butler Street are dangerously unstable. Do not approach or enter the structure. Keep a safe distance and leave animal rescue or structural inspection to qualified, authorized personnel.
There is a deteriorating two-story home at 207 Butler Street in Macon, Missouri, that has become much more than another abandoned property waiting for someone to do something about it. Its massive exterior wall is visibly bowed toward the neighboring family home at 205 Butler Street. Cracks run through the exterior, and old brickwork is exposed behind deteriorating stucco.
According to the Dawsons, workers associated with the property owner of 207 placed two wooden 4-by-4 posts against the deteriorating wall during the summer of 2026. During my inspection, the posts appear to be leaning against the masonry without visible anchoring or substantial bracing. They serve no purpose whatsoever. If someone believed the wall required additional support, was the city notified, and was a professional evaluation ever performed?
There is less than seven feet of separation between the two buildings.
On one side lives the Dawson family, which includes seven children. On the other side, at 209 Butler Street, stands another residence. Between these homes is a deteriorating structure whose condition raises serious questions about the safety of everyone living nearby.
Inside that same derelict building, another population has apparently established a home of its own.
Cats. Lots of cats. Possibly a colony of 20 or more, according to a neighboring homeowner. Along with raccoons, opossums, snakes, and who knows what other creatures may have found shelter in the building over the years.
What began as an investigation into a dangerous structure and a family's unsuccessful efforts to obtain answers has evolved into a much larger public-safety concern. The eventual resolution must account for the neighboring families, the animals living inside the ominous 207 structure, the people who may be called upon to remove it, and the possibility that winter weather could make an already troubling situation considerably worse.
I visited 207 Butler Street on Saturday, October 17 2026, to examine and document the exterior conditions for myself. I currently own a construction company in Florida and have worked in construction for many decades, and this particular structure immediately caught my attention.
It is an unusual building. Standing beside the Dawson family's two-story home, 207 Butler St. rises noticeably higher and non-conventional roofing and thick stucco over the original brick that has lost all or most of its mortar has created an absolutely massive structure that is looming precariously over the Dawson home.
I did not dare enter the building. From the openings visible along the exterior, portions of the interior appear severely deteriorated, with fallen walls, sections of fallen roofing debris and what appears to be substantial damage to the flooring. I considered it unsafe to attempt interior photography. No photograph, video recording, or news article is worth risking serious injury beneath a collapsing wall or floor.
During my Saturday, October 17, visit, I noticed something else.
Multiple cats were running in and out of the building. They moved through openings in the deteriorating structure, disappearing inside and reappearing as though this had long been their home.
To these animals, 207 Butler Street is more than an abandoned building. It has become a place of shelter, possibly for successive generations of cats and other wildlife.
The following morning, Sunday, October 18, I returned to Butler Street and interviewed Mr. and Mrs. Dawson at their home. I also recorded additional video footage to supplement the photographs and recordings from the previous day. Both homeowners were calm and very friendly during our conversation. Their concerns were understandable, particularly considering the proximity of the deteriorating wall to their home and the presence of seven children in the household.
During our conversation, Mrs. Dawson estimated that at least 20 cats may be living in or around 207 Butler Street. She also described raccoons, opossums, snakes, and potentially other wildlife using the building for shelter. Mrs. Dawson expressed concern that cats she had previously seen around the property have disappeared. The reasons for their disappearance are unknown.
Her estimate is not an independently verified animal count. However, my own observations confirm that multiple cats are actively entering and leaving the structure.
Removing a deteriorating building with heavy equipment may take a relatively short period once the site is prepared. Safely removing a colony of cats and other animals that have become accustomed to sheltering inside could take considerably longer.
Cats can hide beneath flooring, inside wall cavities, under debris, and in places that are difficult to reach even in a structurally sound building. Some may be feral and unwilling to approach people. Others may return repeatedly to the same shelter after being frightened away.
Wildlife presents additional complications. Raccoons, opossums, and snakes require different handling methods, and some animals may have young hidden inside the structure. It would be irresponsible to assume that running the animals out of the building shortly before demolition would solve the problem.
A proper response may require experienced animal-rescue volunteers, humane trapping equipment, temporary holding arrangements, veterinary evaluations, and qualified wildlife personnel. The building may need to be monitored for returning animals before demolition begins.
None of that work should require volunteers to enter an unstable building or place themselves beneath the deteriorating wall. The structural danger must be evaluated first, and any rescue operation must be coordinated around a safe plan for accessing or securing the property.
Macon Moonline Investigates intends to follow this aspect of the investigation closely.
We love cats. We also recognize that raccoons, opossums, snakes, and other wildlife have their own place in the natural world. These animals did not create the conditions at 207 Butler Street. They simply found somewhere to live.
The approaching winter makes the situation even more concerning.
Anyone who has lived through a Missouri winter understands what heavy snow, ice, freezing rain, and strong winds can do to an aging structure. Snow accumulation can add weight to roofs, freezing water can worsen cracks, and repeated temperature changes can contribute to further deterioration.
When 207 Butler St. is demolished, the animals that have sheltered inside will lose the protection they have come to depend upon. Cats accustomed to living in this structure cannot simply be driven into the streets as temperatures fall. Some may require medical attention, temporary shelter, or placement with experienced caretakers. Wildlife will require different handling and appropriate release arrangements. The removal of the building and the relocation of its animal occupants must be planned together.
None of this proves that 207 Butler Street will collapse during the next storm.
But standing beside the bowed masonry wall , looking at the narrow space of less than seven feet separating it from a family home, I could not help considering what might happen if a major winter storm placed additional stress on the building. The possibility troubled me enough that I spent much of the night thinking about it.
Imagine being inside your home with your seven children while a massive, visibly deteriorating wall looms high above your home only a few feet away. Imagine wondering whether the next heavy snowfall or windstorm might be the one that finally causes it to give way. That is not a situation any Macon family should have to accept without a clear explanation of what is being done to evaluate and address the danger.
The problem did not suddenly appear this weekend.
Available property information identifies Trevor Lake as the owner of 207 Butler Street, with an ownership transfer reportedly recorded in September 2021. The property has carried unusually low reported assessed value of around $2,000 for the past 15 years or so. The extremely low property value speaks for the condition of this neglected dwelling for at least the past 15 years.
The important question now is what will be done about it today.
When did the city first become aware of the dangerous situation at 207 Butler Street? Has the building been formally inspected? Has a qualified structural professional evaluated the danger to neighboring homes? Have notices been issued, and what actions have been ordered?
The matter reached Macon City Hall during the October 13 City Council meeting, where Mrs. Dawson raised her concerns with city officials. Mayor Holman referred to an ordinance establishing procedures for dealing with unsafe or abandoned structures.
On Friday October 16th Mrs. Dawson contacted Tabatha Lenzini, the Macon Code Enforcement Officer to inquire if any decisions had been made by the city concerning the dangerous situation that threatens the safety of her family. Lenzini responded that she had nothing to report.
On October 17, Mrs. Dawson and I went to the Macon Public Library together to examine the city's printed Macon City Code. We worked through the provisions relating to buildings and building regulations, attempting to determine what procedures the city is supposed to follow when a dangerous structure may threaten neighboring properties.
It was an unusual scene. A terrified mother and an investigative reporter sitting in a public library, searching through municipal regulations to understand what legal protections and procedures might apply to a deteriorating abandoned house standing only a few feet from a family home.
Missouri law provides a framework for municipalities to address dangerous buildings. Under Section 67.400 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, cities may enact ordinances requiring the repair, vacation, or demolition of structures determined to be public nuisances because they threaten the health, safety, or welfare of residents.
Section 67.410 establishes procedural requirements for ordinances adopted under that authority, including inspections, notice to affected property owners, hearings, and documented findings supporting repair or demolition orders.
Of particular importance to the situation at 207 Butler Street is Section 67.440, which permits municipalities to authorize emergency measures when a dangerous building presents an immediate threat to human health, safety, or welfare.
These statutes do not establish that 207 Butler Street has been legally declared dangerous or that Macon has satisfied the conditions for emergency action. The city's specific ordinance provisions, inspection findings, and enforcement records must still be examined.
The printed City Code bears a July 2025 update notation. Its supplement history includes ordinances dated through April 16, 2025. Whether subsequent ordinances have modified the dangerous-building procedures remains to be determined.
Macon's municipal code is not currently available to residents through a readily accessible, searchable online publication. I have reported extensively on that issue, and this investigation provides another example of why public access to municipal law matters.
Macon's laws should be readily accessible to every resident, without unnecessary obstacles. A searchable, publicly available City Code would allow homeowners like the Dawsons to examine the rules affecting their property and safety without having to navigate a library binder simply to understand their rights.
The existence of a dangerous-building ordinance does not necessarily authorize immediate demolition without notice or legal process. Property owners have rights, and municipalities must follow applicable procedures. But those procedures must also account for the safety of people who may be endangered while the legal process moves forward.
If the city has already determined that 207 Butler Street presents a dangerous condition, what measures are being taken to protect the neighboring families? If no such determination has been made, when will the structure receive an appropriate evaluation?
And prior to demolition, who will coordinate the animal rescue, the protection of neighboring homes, the removal of the building, and the cleanup afterward?
There is another possibility that deserves serious consideration. If a qualified structural professional determines that the Dawson home cannot safely remain occupied while the neighboring wall is assessed, stabilized, or demolished, temporary relocation may be necessary.
For a family of nine, that could become a substantial financial burden, particularly if the animal-removal process and other preparations take longer than the demolition itself.
Whether the city has the legal authority, available resources, or obligation to assist with temporary accommodations remains an open question. It is one that deserves consideration as part of any emergency response plan. The family should not be left wondering where it will sleep if officials determine that remaining in the home is unsafe.
A responsible demolition plan cannot consist solely of selecting a contractor and scheduling heavy equipment. It must consider whether cats or wildlife remain inside, whether the site can be safely accessed by rescue personnel, and how the animals will be handled after removal.
Macon Moonline Investigates intends to document the process as it develops.
We are preparing remote video-monitoring equipment capable of recording activity from safely positioned, authorized locations and preserving footage on our computers and in cloud storage.
Our cameras include "pet-detection" technology that may help us document animal activity around the structure. We also intend to record significant developments involving animal rescue, structural work, demolition, and the eventual remediation of the property.
We will also seek answers from city officials concerning inspections, notices, structural evaluations, and any plans already underway.
There may be official actions or engineering assessments that have not yet been made available to this publication. Until those records are reviewed, it would be premature to conclude that any city officials have violated the law or ignored a formal duty. But the conditions visible at 207 Butler Street are serious enough to warrant an urgent, documented response.
The immediate priority must be protecting the neighboring families and anyone who might be exposed to falling debris. The next challenge is developing a safe and humane method of removing the animals, followed by whatever stabilization, demolition, and remediation qualified professionals determine is necessary. Those efforts should be coordinated rather than allowed to become separate problems that delay one another.
This investigation is no longer about a homeowner's frustration at a City Council meeting. It is about a family trying to live safely in its own home, a deteriorated building that presents a serious potential danger, and animals that have made that same building their shelter.
The Dawsons deserve a clear explanation of how their safety will be protected. The people who eventually work on the property deserve a safe working environment. And the animals inside deserve a serious effort to remove them without unnecessary suffering.
The city and the appropriate professionals all have roles that need to be clarified.
Macon Moonline Investigates will continue documenting what happens at 207 Butler Street, asking questions, and following the evidence. We intend to make certain that the Dawson family's concerns are treated with dignity and respect and that their safety remains the first priority.
We will also be watching what happens to the animals that have made this dangerous building their home. They did not create this situation, and they should not be forgotten when the demolition equipment arrives.
Regards Maconites,
R. Dominique - Editor
maconmoonline
