These days, “on the loose” has a whole new meaning in Land O’Lakes, Fla.
A radio station stunt that had three listeners dress like escaped inmates went awry Friday when dozens of people called 911 and the resulting ruckus tied up traffic during morning rush hour, authorities said.
The three, shackled and dressed in what appeared to be jail uniforms, were competing to try to get motorists to give them a ride, Pasco County sheriff’s spokesman Kevin Doll said. The first one back to the studios of Tampa station WXTB-FM, 98 Rock, would win a trip to Los Angeles in conjunction with a new Fox show called “Prison Break.”
But after 30 or 40 calls from “terrified” motorists and residents, sheriff’s deputies responded in force and took them into custody, Doll said. They were released after about an hour.
“We took it quite seriously and responded with every available deputy we had in that area,” said Doll, adding that Florida law would have allowed motorists and deputies to shoot the masquerading inmates if they were seen to pose a threat.
Teens auction off time; mom tallies the chores
First, they auctioned off a week of their time online for a fraction of what they had hoped to make.
Then, college-bound students Chip Davis and Chris Pullen learned the identity of their eBay “buyer”: Davis’ mother, Mary.
“Like I’m going to let some pedophile or whatever win? I don’t think so,” she said Friday. “I would have paid $5,000 for the safety of those two – no question.”
The auction concluded Aug. 8. Davis, 18, and Pullen, 19, found out Mary Davis’ secret on Thursday, dashing any hopes that they would at least get to travel because of the auction.
“After finding out the winner was from St. Joseph, I was disappointed,” Chip Davis said. “But now I’m even more disappointed to find out it was my mom.”
Mary Davis used a screen name the two would not recognize, and checked the family’s computer in secret to make sure she had the winning bid.
She said she planned to get her money’s worth out of the two, who will start classes later this month at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
“It’s a legal contract,” she said, “so the longer they put it off, the longer the list of work will get.”
From Herald news services
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