GEORGETOWN, Ohio — "Who am I?" reads the image of a difficult-to-read letter, scrawled on lined notebook paper.
A photo of the letter was posted to social media by Georgetown police Thursday evening.
It's a question Georgetown police are hoping to answer after several hand-written letters popped up in mailboxes and around the town in Brown County, Police Chief Shaun Inlow said.
The first note was dropped off at the Georgetown Public Library on September 21, just days before the county fair.
"Something about, 'I'm the Terror of Georgetown. Bodies will fall.' And they referenced Oct. 1. Oct. 1 is a significant date for the Las Vegas shooter incident that happened I think back in 2017," Inlow said. "So there were some concerns there."
The Brown County Sheriff's Office was notified and both departments manned the fair on heightened alert, but Inlow said there were no incidents.
"Everything went fine fine. Nothing happened. No blood fell, no bodies fell. No bodies went missing," he said.
One week went by with no more letters. That changed Wednesday night.
"That's when we ended up getting — I think we got seven to 10 letters," Inlow said.
Most were found in the North Kenwood and Powers Avenue, stuck on mailbox flags outside homes. Some were also found in the south end of town.
Inlow had a post written up on social media to get the word out. It calls the letters "cryptic," with some being "possibly threatening."
The letters are written in pen on typical lined notebook paper, torn from a notebook. The messages consist of a blend of cursive and backward letters. The bottom right corner of the pages are torn off as well.
In the upper right corner is written "4th letter," underlined twice. In the middle of the page is a circle within a circle, resembling a donut.
Because of the consistencies, Inlow believes the same person is behind them.
"Initially I was thinking this could probably be a juvenile but then there were some indications in the letters like cursive and things like that would indicate maybe an adult," he said. "So, we're kind of up on the air on that point. With it being so early in the morning it kind of rules out a little bit that it was a juvenile."
"Hey, my siege of this town just started," one of the letters reads, though the scrawled penmanship is difficult to decipher. "Bodies will fall, but none shall be found ... ask yourselves whos missing?"
Multiple periods and question marks include the donut-like symbol as well. The paper is creased and appears to have been folded into segments at one point.
It's unclear whether the letter is the result of a juvenile prank, or something more sinister but police still advise people in Georgetown to keep their eyes peeled and their cameras activated.
Georgetown police are hoping residents can check any doorbell or surveillance cameras they have to see if any footage can help identify who dropped off the strange messages. Inlow said he and his officers are frustrated because so far, they've found no footage showing a possible suspect.
"That's the problem with motion cameras. Motion cameras are great — I have a motion camera — but it never catches the motion I need it to catch," he said. It usually catches after or before and that's what we're having here. One of the letters left on a mailbox — it didn't pick up the motion but it picked up a still frame. So the guy at 4:27 am sees no letter on his mailbox and then at 4:30 am there's a letter on the mailbox. No picture of a guy, which is just our luck."
Police also asked that anyone who may recognize "this distinct writing" contact officers at 937.378.4155.
"We also urge everyone to remain vigilant for any signs of threats, trespassers, or suspicious activity," GPD's social media post reads. "Lock your doors, put up expensive items and make sure your cameras are functional."
Inlow said, as of Friday, he has some persons of interest though no solid suspects. If caught, the self-proclaimed "Terror of Georgetown" could face criminal charges for trespassing and inducing panic.
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