No, the article says that it was her real estate agent that discovered the squatter and that the house had previously been rented. Your confusion is understand

No, the article says that it was her real estate agent that discovered the squatter and that the house had previously been rented. Your confusion is understandable. The framing of both situations in the article is "homeowner returned to discover squatters" but even their own facts don't line up with that narrative. I suspect both situations are probably much more mundane tenant disputes and the article is pushing an agenda.