Photo courtesy Little Egg Harbor Police
LITTLE EGG HARBOR — Police are searching for “Bumble,” a Yeti-like creature reported roaming through the township overnight, after residents claimed the towering figure swiped a Thanksgiving turkey and disrupted a holiday delivery.
Little Egg Harbor police said dispatchers began receiving multiple calls shortly after midnight about a mysterious creature seen riding in the township PAL bus. One homeowner in Mystic Island told officers the creature entered her kitchen and helped itself to the raw, brining turkey she was preparing for Thanksgiving. She frightened it away, but the bird was gone. Police said home security video confirmed the intruder was the same creature previously described as Bumble.
Around the same time, officers learned that a Walmart on Route 9 was scheduled to receive a shipment of Christmas cookies at 2 a.m. Working with Officer Peschko of Peschko’s Yeti Services LLC, police set up in the wooded area behind the store, betting that Bumble’s keen sense of smell would draw it to the delivery.
Police said the creature did, in fact, appear and attempted to ambush the delivery driver. Despite officers’ preparations, Bumble managed to evade capture and disappeared into the night. Authorities recovered the PAL bus and Christmas decorations at the scene, but reported that Bumble took off with the switch used to power the township’s Christmas tree lights. Without it, officials said, the tree cannot be illuminated.
Bumble remains at large, and the missing switch has not been found. Police urged residents to secure their Thanksgiving turkeys and holiday desserts and to report any sightings or information immediately to the Little Egg Harbor Police Department.
*The proceeding “news story” was a little attempt at fun from the Little Egg Harbor Police and Jersey Shore Online. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!