ALPENA — Drew Wieschowski, one of the original defendants in the Airbnb case involving lawsuits filed by women who claimed to have found a swarm of bats, was never the owner of the property, according to opposing attorney Tyler Joseph from Marko Law.

Wieschowski, along with Airbnb and the actual owner of the property, Thomas Storey, were facing multiple charges for an incident in which several women staying at an Alpena Airbnb in July 2023 claimed to have found a swarm of bats in the house while staying there.

In the complaint, Wieschowski was incorrectly identified as the owner of the house where this alleged incident occurred but has since been dismissed from the case on May 15. The case will continue through the 26th Circuit Court.

Joseph also clarified that a suit filed on Feb. 20 is a continuation of a suit filed on Nov. 2 rather than a separate case, citing the confusion on who owned the house as the reason for the refiling.

“Because we had such trouble identifying the true owner of the property there used to be a second case open,” Joseph said. “The latter case is the correct case and case number.”

There is currently no date set for a hearing on the case with Joseph stating that it is because Storey’s attorney has not yet filed an appearance.

“Nothing is coming up in the near future,” Joseph said about future court dates. “Airbnb has appeared, and they have an attorney on the case and, Mr. Storey, the owner, has not had an attorney file an appearance yet. Once that happens we’ll likely get a day for scheduling a conference with the judge and we’ll get dates for all of the events and litigation.”

In July 2023, eight women were visiting Alpena for their 50th high school reunion and decided to stay in a Victorian-style Airbnb known as the castle.

During one of their nights in the home, two of the women were awoken and frightened by the appearance of a bat flying into their room.

After running into the hallway and shutting the door behind them, the two women reconvened with the other women before it was alleged they were met with a swarm of bats.

The complaint said that the women allegedly brought in an exterminator to examine the house and that the exterminator allegedly found evidence of bats present in the building for years.

The next hearing on their case is not currently set.