6 razor blades found in school sand box

Lolita Harper

Police found six razor blades in a sand box at College Park

Elementary School on Saturday morning, unsettling the nerves of

neighboring families who say their children often play at the school

yard. Unlike past incidents, police said the blades were not propped

up to intentionally cut people.

Officers responded to a call from a woman who said she was out

walking her dog when she noticed a number of razor blades in a

sandbox at the school at 2380 Notre Dame Road, Costa Mesa Police Sgt.

Richard Allum said.

For more than a year, Costa Mesa police detectives have tried to

catch the person or people responsible for planting the dangerous

devices in area playgrounds. Several razor blades and sharp pieces of

glass have been reported in Costa Mesa and Newport Beach, and so far

police have made no arrests.

Between March and May 30, 2001, 13 incidents were reported in

Costa Mesa and Newport Beach playgrounds. In most cases, razor blades

and sharp glass pieces were either planted on playground equipment or

buried in the sand. In October, another finding was reported at

Heller Park in Costa Mesa. Investigators could not confirm a link to

any or all of the incidents and suspect some could be the work of

copycats.

Allum said this incident was unlike the others because the razors

were found laying flat in the sand, not propped up or poised to

potentially hurt a child. Upon inspection, officers determined the

blades had been in the sand for at least a week based on weathering

and rust. No injuries were reported in connection to the blades.

“My guess is that it was someone just joking around,” Allum said.

But Police Chief Dave Snowden was not laughing.

“We take this very, very seriously and we will work diligently

until we find the culprits responsible,” Snowden said.

Joke or not, this most recent incident frightened parents and

grandparents in the College Park neighborhood, many of whom let their

loved ones play at the school on a regular basis.

“That’s just frightening, we go over there all the time,” said

Holli Walker, a mother of two school-aged girls.

After the arrest of Lori Fischer, the 21-year-old woman suspected

of planting razor blades and nails in several South County parks,

Walker thought she could rest easy about the issue. Walker was

unaware that Costa Mesa police had ruled out Fischer as the possible

culprit in similar incidents in the city.

“I guess I will have to be a little more diligent when we go over

there,” said Walker, who lives about a block away on Tulane Street.

“I guess you just get a sense of security in your own neighborhood

and you drop your guard.”

Geoff Ewertz, who has lived across the street from College Park

Elementary for 26 years, also lamented the loss of freedom from harm

in something as innocent as child’s play.

“It’s just a shame nowadays that kids can’t even go and simply

play in a playground without having to worry about stuff like this,”

he said.

Ewertz said his children grew up playing in the school yard and

now his 4-year-old grandson has followed in their footsteps. The

garage was stocked with playthings, including the small shovel and

pail the toddler uses to dig through the sand.

“My grandson loves to play right there,” said Ewertz, pointing to

a small sand box just across the street from his quaint one story

home.

Ewertz was curious to know why police did not notify neighbors

about the razor blade finding or ask if anyone had seen anything

suspicious. There were signs posted on the gates of the schoolyard to

warn unsuspecting parents of the dangers that were there just hours

before.

“I was out here mowing my lawn when I saw all the police cars and

I wondered what they were doing,” Ewertz said. “I’m surprised they

didn’t ask me if I had seen anything.”

A city work crew raked the entire sand area at the school and did

not find any additional razors or sharp objects, Allum said. Once the

area was deemed safe, there was no need to frighten people off, he

added. Park Rangers also immediately checked all local schools, city

parks and playgrounds to make sure they were free of razor blades.

“We have checked 50 to 60 spots around the city,” Allum said.

“Basically anywhere that has an open area with playground equipment,

we’ve walked through.”

Allum said police have consistently patrolled public play areas

since the first findings more than a year ago but as an added safety

precaution, he left extra reminders for both the night and morning

shifts to keep an eye out.

* LOLITA HARPER covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at lolita.harper@latimes.com.