Images of a cloaked figure who reportedly dropped raw meat near an apartment complex in North Carolina last week went viral and frightened local residents enough that police looked into the matter.
A Gastonia police spokeswoman, Donna Lahser, told the Guardian that police received a call to meet with the manager at Hudson Woods apartment complex near Charlotte on 17 August after the photo of the figure surfaced online.
But Lahser said the rumors about the figure, such as whether he or she dropped meat, could not be confirmed without information apart from the photograph, and police have not been able to track down the original source of the images.
A cloaked person reportedly dropped raw meat at a playground. Did you see it? Do you have more photos to share? pic.twitter.com/ThNfXYwMvi
— Diane Turbyfill (@GazetteDiane) August 17, 2015
As the images spread virally, some online said the figure appeared at a playground. Others said it was outside the apartment complex. But Lahser said there was “no connection with a playground”, and it was “unknown if it was at the apartment complex”.
“We don’t know if this is some kind of bogus claim that someone is saying,” she said. “We don’t know if someone is playing around.”
