After a string of pumpkin thefts, Maryland Heights police stopped a car with 49 stolen pumpkins inside. The department posted this "pumpkin lineup" on social media Oct. 18 to try and match the stolen pumpkins with their owners. Photo courtesy of Maryland Heights Police.
MARYLAND HEIGHTS • They call it the great pumpkin caper of suburban St. Louis.
It all started on the midnight watch for one Maryland Heights police officer the night of Oct. 18. It was about 1:40 a.m. when the first call came in: The pumpkins were missing.
First in one subdivision — Pinehurst — then more calls from another — Arrow Heights. There soon seemed to be gaping holes in fall stoop displays everywhere in the area.
Sgt. Jamie White of the Maryland Heights Police Department was on the case.
A neighbor called in a description of a compact SUV spotted around the time of the first vanishing pumpkin.
In yet another subdivision — Brookside — White soon tracked down a Subaru Forester matching the description.
The officer quickly suspected he’d nabbed his thief. The car held three teenage boys and 48 pumpkins.
Plus one gourd.
“No idea how they all fit in there,” Maryland Heights police Capt. Scott Will said. “It was top-to-bottom orange.
“It wasn’t hard to put the pieces together after that.”
Police stopped the car and arrested the teens on the spot. The case was cracked. Luckily the pumpkins weren’t.
The next day, officers placed the abducted decor along a white wall at headquarters, took a picture and posted it to social media.
“I have attached a picture of a pumpkin line up,” wrote Officer Erica Stough in a post seeking pumpkin owners. “If you woke up this morning to missing pumpkins, please contact me.”
There began a dayslong pumpkin ID process.
“You’d be surprised how many people showed up to identify their pumpkins,” said Will. “We were inundated.”
Will said many claimed to know their pumpkin by sight.
“I don’t know how, but we trusted people would be honest,” he said. “And you know, a pumpkin is basically a pumpkin.”
As of Tuesday, there were only 13 pumpkins (plus the gourd) left unclaimed.
It was a happy ending for all except the three teens that were seemingly found orange-handed.
The older two, both 18, were charged with misdemeanor stealing. The third, a 16-year-old, was referred to juvenile court.
One of the teens told police he couldn’t explain what possessed the group to go on their pumpkin-nabbing spree.
“They made a bad decision,” Will said.
An AP file photo shows a Subaru Forester SUV. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)
There is also, of course, a larger lesson to the story, Will said, besides the fact that it is difficult to conceal large quantities of pumpkins in a compact SUV.
“It’s a great example of people not being afraid to call and report something like this,” Will said. “They saw one pumpkin missing, but they reported it not even realizing these guys were on a pumpkin rampage.
“(Police) are here for the big stuff,” Will said. “But we’re here for smaller stuff like missing pumpkins, too.”
Need some Halloween jokes? Check out these reader submissions.
Halloween jokes are a long-honored St. Louis tradition. We asked for your best in our contest, sponsored by Johnnie Brock's, and our readers submitted over 200 hallow-arious entries.
Think you have a better joke? Enter it here and we may add it to our collection.
(Winners: Please check your email for the official notification and boring paperwork.)
Q: What's an optimistic vampire's favorite drink?
Q: B positive!
Q. What do you get when you cross Bambi with a ghost?
A: Bamboo!
Q: What's the difference between the swine flu and the bird flu?
A: For the swine flu you get oink-meant and for the bird flu you get tweet-ment!
Keep scrolling to see more of our favorite submissions.
Have a better joke? Submit it here. We may add it to our collection.
Q: Why cant you trust Elsa from Frozen with a balloon?
Q. What do you call a fish with eight eyes?
Q: What happened to the man who didn't pay his exorcist?
Q: Why are all the ghosts coming to Saint Louis?
Q: What does a ghost eat for supper?
Q: Why are demons and ghouls always together?
Q: What's the problem with raising twin witches?
Q: Why is Dracula so unpopular?
Q: What kind of shoes does a chicken wear?
Q: How do you stop a vegetarian vampire?
Those not raised on Ted Drewes and toasted ravioli are perplexed by a St. Louis tradtiion - The Halloween Joke. In other cities, a simple "trick-or-treat" entitles youngsters to candy. But not in Our Town. Kids in St. Louis are expected to tell a joke before they get candy.
Here's a sampling of jokes from previous years of Trick or Treating.
Erin Heffernan
Erin Heffernan is a reporter for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
