Saturday, November 1, 2014

Tampered Treats (Halloween, 2014)




The Buffalo News
31 October 2014



Parents in the city’s Kaisertown area near Houghton Park are being warned by Buffalo Police to be careful of the candy their children are given in Halloween excursions tonight.

A Kaisertown woman complained to police about pieces of glass in candy her children were given during Beggar’s Night trick or treating activity Thursday evening. Police are trying to pin down the residence involved.


Global News [Canada]
1 November 2014


EDMONTON – RCMP in Wetaskiwin are reminding people to check their children’s Halloween candy after officers received a complaint of a pin found in a chocolate bar.

Officers say it appears to be an isolated incident and no one was injured.

In a post on the Wetaskiwin Rant and Rave Facebook page, resident Victoria Kimberly says she found the pin in one of her kid’s mini chocolate bars. […]


WCNC-TV [Charlotte, NC]
1 November 2014


MAIDEN, N.C. -- It's a scenario parents fear.

Police in Maiden were alerted to a razor blade embedded in a small candy bar on Halloween night.

Vigilant parents who checked their child's candy noticed the blade inside the wrapper of a Twix mini candy bar. Someone passed out the candy to a small child while trick-or-treating. […]





Philadelphia Inquirer

1 November 2014






Jonathan Lai, Inquirer Staff Writer



A 13-year-old trick-or-treater in Towamencin Township made a horrifying discovery Saturday morning after opening the wrapper of a candy bar picked up on Halloween: a large razor blade.



The candy had been sealed when the child opened it and immediately discovered the razor blade, which was loose inside the wrapper and not hidden inside the candy itself, said Sgt. John Cutrone of the Towamencin Township Police Department. He did not bite into the candy and was not injured. […]






KOCO-TV [Oklahoma City]
1 November 2014


By David Pierce

SHAWNEE, Okla. —A mother in Pottawatomie County told authorities she found a plastic bag containing three pills in her children’s Halloween candy Friday night.

The mother told investigators she didn’t know where the pills came from. Authorities said it did not appear that the pills were intentionally put in the trick-or-treat bag. […]






KSHB-TV [Kansas City]

2 November 2014






Lisa Benson



KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The thought of tainted Halloween candy is an urban legend for some, but the same is not true for a Metro mom after her daughter found a sharp metal pin in her Halloween candy.



Laticha Robinson's children were snacking on their Halloween stash Saturday night when her oldest daughter broke open a Snickers and found a black metal pin inside. […]





Sun Journal [Lewiston, ME]
2 November 2014


Douglas McIntire, Staff Writer

AUBURN — A sewing needle "expertly" placed down the center of a candy bar caused a concerned dad to dump the whole load of Halloween candy and send out a word of caution. […]


The Express-Times [Easton, PA]
2 November 2014


Rudy Miller

A teenager reports finding a pin in a candy bar she received while trick-or-treating in Lower Macungie Township, police said. […]
 
 



Sioux City Journal [IA]
2 November 2014



SERGEANT BLUFF - The Sergeant Bluff Police Department is advising people to check Trick-or-Treating candy for foreign objects.

The department reported Sunday that someone filed a complaint stating a sewing pin was found protruding from an unwrapped candy bar given out on Friday, Halloween night. […]


Sun Journal [Lewiston, ME]
3 November 2014


AUBURN — Police said Monday they won't investigate further a report of a needle found in a Halloween candy bar.

"It turns we cannot say for sure where the candy came from," Deputy Chief Jason Moen said. […]


CBC News [Canada]
3 November 2014

Matt Evans's daughter discovered blade inside piece of Starburst candy

A parent in Selkirk, Man., has filed a police report after his daughter found a sharp blade in one of her Halloween candies.

Matt Evans says his 14-year-old daughter was going through her treats over the weekend when she discovered something sticking out of a piece of Starburst candy. […]


CBC News [Canada]
3 November 2014


A Nova Scotia mother is warning other parents to be vigilant after her 14-year-old daughter found a pin in a chocolate bar she got trick-or-treating in Cole Harbour on Halloween.

Nancy Hayes, who lives in Eastern Passage, said her daughter went trick-or-treating with friends in the Astral Drive and Stratford Drive area of Cole Harbour.

On Sunday, as she was eating some of her Halloween treats, she broke a chocolate bar in half and saw a pin sticking out. […]


WKYT-TV [Lexington, KY]
2 November 2014


By Mark Barber

FRANKLIN COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - While deputies were screening trick-or-treat bags with X-ray machines at the Franklin County Judicial Center Friday night they say they found pocket knives in treat bags belonging to two young children.

"They were dropped in as part of the treats. Not a good thing to do especially with little children, they've got no business with that," said sheriff Pat Melton. […]

Melton says they don't plan to press charges against the person who gave the pocket knives to the children because it's a case of poor judgement, not criminal intent.







WLWT-TV [Cincinnati, OH]

3 November 2014






By Brian Hamwick



PEEBLES, Ohio —An Adams County mother expected candy boxes her son received for Halloween to be loaded with calories. She didn't expect them to be loaded with ammunition.



“Those are live bullets in my child’s trick-or-treat bag,” said Chrissy Campbell.

Campbell was even more upset that the candy boxes with the ammunition came from her son’s preschool. […]

There were a total of four boxes, each with three rounds inside. All appeared to be .22 caliber. […]


Asbury Park Press [NJ]
3 November 2014


Brett Bodner

MANCHESTER – Police are advising residents to inspect all candy received while trick or treating after receiving a report of suspicious and dangerous candy.

A township parent told police that after she went trick or treating with her child, she went to go eat a Tootsie Roll when she found it contained a toothpick shard, Capt. Lisa Parker said in a news release. […]


South Jersey Times
3 November 2014


By Don E. Woods

VINELAND — Each Halloween, parents warn their kids about razor blades being hidden in candy bars but, for one Vineland family, the urban legend turned out to be true.

A razor blade was found in a Tootsie Roll, according to Vineland Police Department.

The Tootsie Roll was collected in East Vineland, in the neighborhood near Spring Road and Pennsylvania Avenue. […]
 



Contra Costa Times [CA]
3 November 2014


By Karina Ioffee

HERCULES -- Police in Hercules are trying to determine who gave a plastic bag of methamphetamine to a young girl on Halloween, and are reminding parents to inspect their children's candy haul for suspicious items.

The 8-year-old girl had been trick-or-treating in the Promenade area of Hercules and came home with a .1 gram plastic bag of crystal methamphetamine, Hercules police said Monday. […]


WBNS-TV [Columbus, OH]
3 November 2014


By Shelby Croft

DANVILLE, Ohio - A warning from police about a mystery surrounding Milk Duds.

A Danville mother says something was wrong with the candy her children received while trick-or-treating and police agree.

"I don't see why anybody would do that," said Danville resident Gregory Keener.

It's all the talk on the sleepy streets of the small town, beware of any Milk Duds kids got in their buckets on Halloween. […]


Siouxland Matters [Sioux City, IA]
3 November 2014



Rachael Krause

"As I'm unwrapping it, I took it apart.  And I took it apart once, it broke once, but then I couldn't break it. So I thought, I think there's something in my candy," said Gerrit Youngberg, 11-years-old. […]

Lodged inside the tiny Twix was a sewing needle. Small, thin and dangerous. […]


KZTV [Corpus Christi, TX]
3 November 2014



Janine Reyes

CORPUS CHRISTI -- Trick or treat took on a literal meaning for one mom. While her son got plenty of treats hitting the streets friday night, one item in his loot looks like it could be a trick.

It's a pack of pills and she's wants to know who passed it out to her son and why. […]

We looked into the name on the packaging and found a video for the product, calling the USANA Vitamins the "top rated supplements in world."

They had a high price, too, about $129 a box. The site also includes a disclaimer that reads: "using this product is an excellent start for adults interested in building a strong foundation of health through daily nutrition." It's clearly not made for kids. […]







KHQ-TV [Spokane, WA]

3 November 2014






by Caitlin Rearden, KHQ Local News Weekend Anchor



SPOKANE, Wash. - It's an urban legend for most of us: Finding harmful objects in Halloween candy. But for Denise Brus and her children, this was an unfortunate reality this Halloween.

Brus says her four children went trick-or-treating in North Spokane. They started off in the 500 block of Empire heading toward the mall taking Standard and then over to one block east of Nevada and back down in a loop.

A few days later, when her son and a friend were eating some of their candy, she says his friend bit into a nail. She says the nail poked her son's friend in the cheek but didn't cause any major harm.

"They proceeded to open the rest of the candy and found that there was multiple pieces of candy that had metal inside," says Brus. She says it ranged from nails, to staples and even what appeared to be parts of a watch. […]


Stevens Point Journal [WI]
4 November 2014


Sari Lesk

STEVENS POINT – Members of a local family report that they found a 3-inch needle in a candy bar obtained while trick-or-treating in Stevens Point, police say.

The Stevens Point family reported Tuesday morning the needle was in a bite-sized Snickers candy bar. Family members were unable to identify which home the candy came from but said they had trick-or-treated Friday in the areas of Ellis, Jefferson, Fremont and Reserve streets. […]
 



CBC News [Canada]
4 November 2014


Sault Ste. Marie Police are advising parents to carefully check their children’s Halloween candy, after a sewing needle was found in a chocolate bar. […]


WSIL-TV [Carterville, IL]
4 November 2014


SESSER - Sesser Police have issued a safety warning after a parent said his child found a needle in a candy bar.

The father told police his 11-year-old received a fun size Snickers bar while trick-or-treating. The needle was discovered when the child took a bite. […]


WFMZ-TV [Allentown, PA]
4 November 2014


Author: Keleigh Gibbs

LOWER MACUNGIE TWP., Pa. - Karen Haldeman, of Ancient Oaks in Lower Macungie Township, was extra cautious this Halloween. She was on high alert after hearing another child unwrapped a scary surprise after trick-or-treating this year.

"I was watching the news and I saw that the child in Philly had found a razor blade in a chocolate bar," Karen said. "So, I just reminded her [daughter Olivia], before you start putting candy in your mouth, look at it."

Hours after receiving her mother's advice, Olivia had a similar experience with a candy bar she received while trick-or-treating.

 "I opened it and I looked at it," Olivia said. "There was a little yellow pin." […]


CBC News [Canada]
4 November 2014


2nd reported case of item found in candy bar

Cape Breton Regional Police are investigating a report of a needle found in a Halloween treat in the North Sydney area.

This is the second case of objects found in candy reported to police in Nova Scotia since Oct. 31.

A family in North Sydney called police Monday night after someone bit into a small Aero chocolate bar and discovered a needle inside. […]







Metro News [Halifax, NS]

5 November 2014






The RCMP are investigating a second complaint of a pin found inside a candy bar in the Halifax area.

Police were called to Astral Drive Junior High in Cole Harbour on Monday after a student found a sewing pin inside of a small candy bar when she took a bite.

The student was not injured.

The Mounties say the student was given the candy bar while trick-or-treating in the Astral Drive and Colby South area on Halloween.

Officers say it’s the same area where another girl had gone trick-or-treating and found a one-inch pin lodged inside a small chocolate bar. […]


Lansing State Journal [MI]
4 November 2014


Will Kangas

HOLT – Every Halloween Holt mom Amber Clum has the same routine: Check the candy.

This year her routine paid off.

"I was checking a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup for my daughter Kaylee," she said. "I gently squeeze those to see if the packaging has been compromised."

She felt something that didn't seem normal and after squeezing a little found a sharp pin. One of Halloween's infamous cautionary tales had just been confirmed. […]


Hull Daily Mail [UK]
4 November 2014


By Kevin Shoesmith

A SCHOOLGIRL and her family had a Halloween fright when they returned from a trick or treat trip to find a bolt in a tub of M&S nuts she was given. […]
 



CBC News
5 November 2014



Dryden police are investigating after a young person discovered a blade in a Tootsie Roll the youth received while trick-or-treating on Halloween.

The youth had gone door-to-door Friday night in the neighbourhood of St. Charles Street, Holland Avenue and Arthur Street. […]


KMTV [Omaha, NE]
6 November 2014


By Marjorie Sturgeon.

FREMONT, Neb. (KMTV) – The Fremont Police Department is investigating after a sewing needle was found inside a child’s Halloween candy. […]


WKMG-TV [Orlando, FL]
5 November 2014


Amaka Ubaka

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. - Police in Lake County are warning parents to go through their kids' Halloween candy after a woman claims she found a razor blade in a chocolate bar.

Tara Boyles captured video of the razor blade (watch below) and shared it with Local 6. In the video, which she posted on Facebook to warn other parents, she opens a 3 Musketeers chocolate bar and finds a small razor blade from a cosmetic pencil sharpener inside. […]


North Bay Nipissing News [ON]
6 November 2014


NORTH BAY – Parents are being advised to check their children’s Halloween treats after police were called with complaints of treat tampering.

The first complaint was called in at 7 p.m. on Nov. 5 after a child found a chocolate bar covered in a white powder.

The packaging on the bar appeared to be properly sealed, but on closer examination was found to have been slit down one side. The parents told police that the child had been trick-or-treating on Wickstead Avenue, Sylvan Crescent, Michener Drive, Glen Rouge Drive, Madelena Drive, Circle Lake Road, Ferguson Street, Victoria Street and Princess Street.

The second call came in just before 9 p.m. that same night about a chocolate bar collected on Aberdeen Street at approximately 6:30 p.m. on Halloween night. After opening the wrapper, which appeared to be sealed, the complainant noticed that a razor blade was inside the bar. […]







Global News | 6 November 2014





By Patrick Odell

HALIFAX – Halifax police have confirmed another person has found a pin in a Halloween treat — the third case in the area, and fourth in the province, in a week.

A man reported to Halifax Regional Police on Thursday that he discovered a pin when he bit into a candy bar that was collected trick-or-treating in Portland Estates.

Police are investigating the report. […]


KIII-TV [Corpus Christi, TX]
5 November 2014


CORPUS CHRISTI (Kiii News) - The warning to check your kid's Halloween candy is given out every Halloween, and for one woman and her younger sister this year, that advice may have proved lifesaving.

"I bit into it," Crystal Martinez said. "The needle came out with my mouth because I bit into it." […]


Peninsula Clarion [Kenai, AK]
6 November 2014

Razor and screw found in Soldotna teen's Halloween candy

By DAN BALMER            

Soldotna police are warning parents to pay close attention to their kid’s Halloween candy after a Soldotna teen found a razor blade and small screw in a box of candy last Friday. […]
 



CBC News
7 November 2014

Other bars found in Cape Breton, Cole Harbour, Dartmouth

Cape Breton Regional Police are investigating another case of potential Halloween candy tampering, bringing the total number of similar cases in Nova Scotia to six.

Police received a call from a Sydney Mines parent Thursday evening after her son discovered a silver pin inside a candy bar he was eating. The pin was approximately 3.8 centimetres long. […]


The Nugget [North Bay, ON]
7 November 2014


By JENNIFER HAMILTON-MCCHARLES, The Nugget

Another trick-or-treater has discovered a razor blade in a chocolate bar collected on Halloween night.

The North Bay Police Service confirmed it is investigating a third report of a tampered piece of Halloween candy. […]


KNXV-TV [Phoenix, AZ]
1 November 2014


Lauren Vargas

MESA, AZ - A woman in Mesa is desperate to find her wedding ring after she says she accidentally gave it away with the Halloween candy Friday night.

“When I first realized what had happened, I just lost my speech, I froze,” said wife and mother Brooklin Yazzie.

The ring didn’t slip off her finger. She had placed it in a candy jar while helping her daughters carve pumpkins, and when the night became hectic she absentmindedly dumped the contents of the jar into the candy bag. […]


Chicago Tribune
6 November 2014


By Gary Gibula

[…] “I'd been giving out handfuls of candy," said Jennifer Vasek. "I knew my ring was a little loose, but not to the extent that it might fall off." […]







Ottawa Sun [ON]

9 November 2014


By Doug Hempstead

Someone put a sewing needle in a Snickers bar which was found in a haul of Halloween candy. […]


CBS Los Angeles
9 November 2014


MURRIETA (CBSLA.com) — Police warned the public Sunday about metal that was recently found inside a leftover Halloween candy bar.

According to the Murrieta Police Department, officers impounded a fun sized Milky Way candy bar around 9:36 p.m. on Saturday, after a grandmother reported the discovery of metal poking out of the treat. […]
 



CBC News [Canada]
12 November 2014


Police force warns parents to check Halloween candy prior to consumption

A sewing needle was found by a child in a small Coffee Crisp chocolate bar he received on Halloween in Cornwall, Ont., police say.

No one was injured and the incident is under investigation, according to a media release issued by Cornwall police. […]






CTV News [Canada]
14 November 2014


Cheryl Holmes, CTV Winnipeg

Nearly two weeks after Halloween, the scares continue.

Lisa Hargreaves says her daughter opened a box of Smarties for Lisa's 11-month-old grandson Wednesday.

What they found was far more frightening than the chocolate they expected to see.

Inside the box, there were only five Smarties. But the box was full with 17 pills. […]
 



Denton Record Chronicle [Texas]
26 November 2014


Megan Gray-Hatfield

Denton police are continuing their investigation into a box of candy that was filled instead with prescription pain pills.

Officer Ryan Grelle, spokesman for Denton police, said Tuesday that a detective was “just assigned” to the weekend incident that left a 5-year-old boy placing a painkiller inside his mouth.

Reports obtained by the Denton Record Chronicle show police were dispatched Saturday evening to a home in the 1900 block of Northlakes Trail after people at a party found that a piñata filled with recycled Halloween candy contained a Trolli Sour Brite Eggs box holding 36 hydrocodone/acetaminophen pills.

A 5-year-old little boy started to eat one, police said, but stopped because “it tasted bad.” […]





North Bay Nugget
23 December 2014


By JENNIFER HAMILTON-MCCHARLES

North Bay Police Service has some answers to what was believed to be tampered Halloween candy.

The white substance found on a mini-size Halloween chocolate bar has been identified as sucrose, according to police. […]