Nails found at Bushard Park

Jenny Marder and Andrew Edwards

Police have stepped up security around Bushard Park after a handful

of nails were found buried in seemingly strategic spots at the

playground last week.

Police say it appears to be an isolated incident.

“Officers assigned have been directed to increase security and

patrol checks,” said Huntington Beach Police Sgt. Dave Bunetta.

One-inch roofing nails were discovered on Feb. 15 beneath swings

and a slide in Bushard Park by two boys who were playing in the area,

Bunetta said. One of the boys showed them to his mother, who reported

the incident to police. The park, which is on Warburten Drive and

Havenhurst Lane, was closed for two hours that day while police

searched the area.

The scare comes about two years after a Mission Viejo woman

deliberately placed razor blades on playgrounds in several South

Orange County cities.

Neighborhood parents have their fingers crossed that the nails

were no more than a freak occurrence.

“Maybe it was just some kids and not going to be something

chronic,” said Dan Crossen, who lives on Warburton Way, near the

park. “It concerns me, and you’ve just got to keep a watchful eye.”

Some neighbors, such as Regina Blankenhorn, suspect that the nails

came from a house on Elmsford Street that workers are remodeling.

“I think it’s probably just a fluke,” she said.

Albert Castaneda was at the park with his wife and two daughters

on the afternoon of the incident, when he saw two boys playing some

sort of game that involved wood and hammers on a park bench.

“It looked like they had some sort of woodcraft,” Castaneda said.

Castaneda’s wife reported the boys’ descriptions to police Sunday

night. Bunetta said there’s no evidence that the boys are connected

to the crime.

“There’s no concrete information that points to it to being either

accidental or deliberate,” Bunetta said.

Police are encouraging people to report any strange objects to

police immediately.

“The kids did the right thing by going home and telling parents,”

Bunetta said.

Anyone with information should call the police department at (714)

960-8811.