By Pat Culverhouse
“As your mayor, I want you to know we are not going to let anyone steal our Christmas spirit this year,” Minden’s Nick Cox said during a Monday news conference.
“As an agency, we have been receiving intelligence from local and neighboring agencies about a subject that may possibly be coming to our town. This subject is not dangerous to people, but he is dangerous to the Christmas spirit. He is here to steal the Christmas spirit and if he does come here this is what he is going to do,” Minden Chief of Police Jared McIver added.
Both city officials stressed during the news conference the danger that could be facing the local population as Christmas approaches. That danger is described as green and hairy, with perhaps a splash of red and white on its garments. The suspect could be traveling in the company of a dog with horns strapped to its head.
Cox said Christmas in Minden, which officially kicked off with activities over the weekend, was so successful that it’s caught the attention of many out-of-towners.
“But with the good comes the bad, and we’ve also caught the attention of some people, in particular one certain situation that has started noticing our city,” the mayor said. “During the holiday season, I’d like you to be on the lookout for any green, hairy individuals. We need to work closely with law enforcement.”
McIver displayed two sketches from reported eye witnesses, one of which was from a youngster. Although slight differences were noted in the complexion, the chief noted, “Definitely these are the same two people.”
Anticipating the approach of the mean greenie, a 24-hour hotline has been established to receive information from the public. McIver said individuals are encouraged to call 318-510-4701 to report sightings of the creature.
“People should call if they see anything resembling this description. If you get a recording, please leave a message telling where you saw it and what it was doing, and maybe a date and time. This will help us as a law enforcement unit to find and apprehend him to keep him from stealing the spirt of Christmas,” the chief said.
Cox and McIver said updates on the progress of the hunt for the suspect will be given on the city of Minden’s Facebook page and through local media outlets KASO Radio, Minden Press Herald and Webster Parish Journal.
This information has been provided by a law enforcement agency as public information. Persons named as suspects in a criminal investigation, or arrested and charged with a crime, have not been convicted of any criminal offense and are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
(Editor’s note: please see the entire news conference on Webster Parish Journal Facebook page.)
