ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) – NEWS10 has new details on the investigation into an unattended death at an abandoned building in Albany, the identity of the person found and what’s being done to keep people out of vacant buildings.

Police confirming to NEWS10 that the victim has been identified as 36-year-old Sadie Kopyc.

The Cohoes woman was reported missing January 22.  She was last seen in Cohoes by family January 20. Her body was found at an abandoned building at 70 Central Avenue. The cause of her death remains under investigation. Local officials are also trying to determine how she got into the vacant building which was boarded up at the time.

Neighboring businesses said this building has been a problematic issue for quite some time now as folks have been breaking in for months.

This building was considered abandoned and deemed unoccupied back in January of 2022.

Richard LaJoy, Director of Buildings and Regulatory Compliance for the city of Albany, says they have done what they can to prevent people from entering abandoned buildings.

“What we did, we secured the building as normal but then they found a way onto the roof of the neighboring structure, and they were getting their way inside there we went in and actually there?”

NEWS10 spoke with some nearby business owners who did not want to speak with us on camera, but say they see people breaking into the building and hear them on their roof all the time.

“If there’s a will there’s a way so people are going to get into these buildings if they truly want to get in there. All we can do is keep it secure to the best of our ability,” said LaJoy.

After the Albany police department finish processing the scene, LaJoy says then they can get to work on closing it up.

“[We are] bringing a third-party contractor who can do the secured board up on all levels and that will help prevent anybody from getting in there,” said LaJoy.

LaJoy also says that if you see anyone entering an abandoned or a white X building to call the police non-emergency number at 518-438-4000 and police and coding will respond immediately.