The 22-year-old woman who appears to have spent hours suspended on a crane high above a downtown Toronto construction site early Wednesday is being described by a close friend as a “very adventurous girl.”
Marisa Lazo, who has since been dubbed ‘Crane Girl,’ is believed to have slid down a cable to the crane’s pulley device, where she became stranded. Firefighters are currently saying there was no indication why she scaled the crane in the middle of the night.
Lazo appeared in a Toronto courtroom on Thursday to face six mischief charges. She was released on $500 bail and ordered to stay away from construction sites and rooftops.
“She is an adventure-seeking person,” friend Sara Burton told reporters outside court at Old City Hall on Thursday. “Obviously some logic was not coming into place, but the fact that she did it was not a shock to me.”
“She is always there for the thrill,” Burton said, calling her a “really good girl” who at times seeks out danger.
Photos posted to an Instagram account confirmed to belong to Lazo seemed to back up Burton’s assessment. Lazo could be seen in several photos taken on Toronto rooftops. One image shows her lying across train tracks.
An image from Marisa Lazo's Instagram account.
The posts used hashtags such as #rooftop and #urbanexploration that are popular with urban thrill seekers.
The Instagram account is no longer public.
An image from Marisa Lazo's Instagram account.
Lazo’s climbing prowess even impressed the man tasked with rescuing her from the crane on Wedneday. It took veteran firefighter Rob Wonfor about two-and-a-half hours to return Lazo to the ground. He joked after the rescue that she might have a job waiting for her with Toronto Fire Services.
“She has to tell me how she did it because she’s gotta be our new training officer for high angle, because it’s impressive. It was hard enough for me to go up with ropes and the harnesses, and she free-climbed that. It’s incredible,” Wonfor said.
Lazo’s Instagram account also revealed other more sedate interests such as architecture, vintage skateboards, Toronto landmarks, and books about former U.S. presidents.
A LinkedIn account registered to Marisa O. Lazo indicates the user is a student at George Brown College studying Architectural Technology, and a graduate of Lakeshore Catholic High School in Port Colborne, Ont.
Lazo and her lawyer refused to speak to reporters when they left the courthouse on Thursday afternoon.
Her next appearance is scheduled for May 17.
