Crime & Safety

Weird News: Urine Balloon, Metro Matchmaking and Snake Turns Off the Lights

Plus, cow goes, "Mooove over, officer!"

By Greg Hambrick

Editor's Note: Patch has 31 sites in Virginia and D.C., and not a day goes by that something weird isn't happening somewhere in the area. Here's a look back at some weird goings-on over the past week.

Cow On the Lam: A pregnant Scottish Highland cow made a break for it from her farm on Winfield Road in Fairfax Thursday, July 11, and, despite several sightings, managed to elude animal control officers until Saturday night.

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Waiting to Inhale…And Gag: The corpse flower at the U.S. Botanic Garden has been keeping onlookers waiting, truly with bated breath. Native to the tropical rainforests of Sumatra, Indonesia, Titan Arum gives off a rancid scent during a 48-hour bloom. Via a corpse flower live feed, the world was still waiting Friday.

People Who Need People (On a Train): Metro users, clean yourselves up! If you feel like your commuting hours could be better spent trying to find a date, you’ll love this idea from Prague: Atlantic Cities reports that the city’s metro is setting aside one car per train for single people for a fixed period each week.

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Stabbing? Nope. Just Drunk: An alleged stabbing victim outside a Georgetown bar recanted his story of a “tall, blond, white” suspect earlier this week. According to The Georgetown Voice, the “victim” appears to have injured his elbow and knee, but complained to the school’s public safety officers and bar staff that he was assaulted by an unknown stranger. DPS later notified the campus community that "no assault occurred.”

Paddleboarding CSI: A paddleboarding enterprise on Lake Audubon is hitting the rocks. Opposition from some Reston residents includes fears of increased crime. From paddleboarders? If they’re paddling away with your loot, we don’t think they’re going to be getting away very fast.

Chicken Behind (Little) Bars: Animal Control officers with the Fredericksburg Police plucked a chicken off the streets this week. According to Animal Control Officer Tom Worthy, the captured chicken was released after questioning and is now living happily on a farm in Spotsylvania.   

Construction Talk Turns Jewelry Heist: When a supposed contractor visited a woman at her Manassas area home, she was happy to answer questions and get an update on Interstate 66 expansion behind the house. When he left an hour later, she went back inside and found an undisclosed amount of jewelry was missing.

Snake Attack: A snake slithered into a Dominion Virginia Power substation in Arlington last weekend, causing about 10,000 people to lose power in Arlington, Alexandria and part of Fairfax County.

Dog Poop DNA: Neighbors not cleaning up after their pets? A Northern Virginia HOA president has come up with a sure-fire way to make pet owners clean up their act: Register pets’ DNA to find out who is flouting the “pooper scooper” rules. And if that doesn’t work? Surveillance cameras.

Urine-Filled Balloon Attack: A 12-year-old boy operating a lemonade stand on July 6 in Fairfax was struck with a urine-filled water balloon by a man wearing a full-body leotard. Fairfax County Police have stepped in, and are reportedly investigating the incident as a possible hate crime,  the Washington Post reports.

Man Dishes, Gets Dishes Removed: A Falls Church man went up against a satellite dish company and won after taking his case to local media, WJLA Channel 7. The man wanted DirecTV to remove two satellite dishes they had installed on the roof of his home while he was renting it out to a tenant.

Counting Cars, Missing Two: City of Fairfax Police were recently called to a dealership when, after conducting a routine inventory count, two cars were discovered to be “missing” by the dealership’s manager.



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