Scavenger Hunt Gone Wild in South Kingstown

Unless otherwise noted, information about the following incidents was supplied by the South Kingstown Police Department. An arrest does not indicate a conviction.

According to police, they dealt with several vandalism complaints on Saturday night, stemming from the annual South Kingstown High School senior class scavenger hunt.

The hunt is not a school-sanctioned event. Police said they received the following complaints:

- At about 12:50 a.m. on Nov. 4, police received a report of a vandalized car at Old Mountain Field.

According to police, when they arrived, three 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old were waiting near a heavily-damaged 1998 gold Toyota Camry. Police said the car’s roof was caved in, the windshield was shattered, footprints were on the vehicle, and the mirrors were destroyed as well.

Police said that the group claimed to have gotten into a verbal argument with another group over the scavenger hunt. At the time, a fistfight broke out between a member of each group, but they both then left the area on foot.

According to the owner of the Camry, when they returned later, the car was destroyed. They provided police with the names of the men they had fought with earlier in the night, but an arrest has not been made. The report was also forwarded to detectives for investigation.

- At about 12:04 a.m. on Nov. 4, police received a report of a group of kids cutting down wooden posts at South Kingstown High School, separating the school from Kimball Street.

According to police, when they arrived in the area, they noted a vehicle trying to make a U-turn on Brown Street. A traffic stop was made.

Police said the car had the driver and nine other people in it. The only person of age was an 18-year-old woman, who attends the high school, while the other nine occupants were 17-year-olds.

According to police, while speaking with several of the underage kids, they admitted to cutting down a wooden post and to drinking alcohol that night. Police said three open bottles of alcohol were found in the vehicle.

However, police said that the driver had a blood alcohol level of .000, and the passengers in the car showed no obvious signs of impairment, so charges couldn’t be filed for underage drinking at that time.

- At about 11:26 p.m. on Nov. 3, an employee of Burger King said a tall white man had jumped out of a car. The employee said the windows of the car appeared to be covered in cheese.

The employee said the man was wearing only his underwear and had short black hair, and he appeared to be highly intoxicated. The employee said the man kept yelling, “Where is the list,” and ripped down a gate near the dumpster.

According to the employee, the man left the area while the employee was inside, trying to get the attention of his manager. The manager told police that she wished to press charges. The value of the gate was listed at $200.

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Police said that following the various incidents reported in town, they were able to locate a group of South Kingstown High School seniors parked in the lot of Shaw’s.

At this time, police said they told the group they were aware of their actions, and that school officials would be notified and that the senior class would be held responsible. Police also confiscated two more wooden posts at this time.

Unless otherwise noted, the information for this article was compiled from South Kingstown police reports, which are available for review by any member of the public at their headquarters.

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Following a request for information, several reports were sent in to Narragansett-South Kingstown Patch:

- There were multiple tweets the night of the scavenger hunt about streakers at the Narragansett sea wall, and at businesses in South Kingstown and Narragansett.

- One group of students allegedly caused problems at one Main Street business, and were told to leave after trying to strip in the store. The business owner later saw the same group of students at CVS, again causing problems for employees and being asked to leave. The business owner said they planned to inform school officials on Monday.

- According to one student who had seen the list, two items from it: trick or treat nude at a house, and to table top someone. (Table topping is when a Person A shoves Person B, who trips and falls backward because Person C is on their hands and knees behind Person B.) The student wasn’t aware of the other parts of the hunt, though.

- On Halloween 2011, police also responded to a vandalism call at Burger King related to the scavenger hunt. At that time, an ashtray weighing about 100 pounds had been taken, and employees reported other disturbances by students. However, no other incidents were reported.