Police in Cleveland County launched a major manhunt this week after two separate clown sightings were reported near the Cleveland County elementary school (one person even posted a picture on Facebook, claiming to have taken it near the school).
On Wednesday they announced that their search didn’t produce any results, and that the claims were most likely false. They also noted that any future posts of clowns that are determined to be false or malicious could result in an arrest of the person who posted the picture.
The Cleveland County Police Department posted this warning on their Facebook page:
“We have had an anonymous call to a Cleveland County elementary school today reporting a clown on school premises and a Facebook post depicting a clown with the caption that it was seen near a Cleveland County high school. Both of these incidents were investigated and found to be false. Investigating these allegations has taken numerous man hours from the Sheriff’s Office. We realize that fear regarding incidents involving clowns in South Carolina has spread and, unfortunately some are using it to play pranks. To many this is not a joking matter. Baseless and false reports take away from the Sheriff’s Office resources and ability to work other criminal investigations. After conferring with the District Attorney’s Office, we have determined anyone who posts a picture of a clown stating it is near a school will possibly face charges of obstruction of justice.”
This was one of the first images from a person who claimed to have spotted one of the clowns in Greenville, SC;
just spotted a major freak behind fleetwood apts. #WTF pic.twitter.com/StN0VzLNY2
— Kevin Thoman (@kevthoman) August 30, 2016
There were also several verified claims from local school children that clowns had been seen in the woods trying to get them to follow him with various amounts of money.
After various eye witness accounts and police investigations, local residents are now setting up neighborhood watches and keeping their children indoors at night, reports Greenville’s WYFF.
What do you think about all these recent clown sightings?