Writer/Designer, Dread House/Urban Hunt (2004)
Client:Dave Szulborski (Independent ARG).
Played Ed Vargas/Amanda Graves. Wrote blogs, emails, IM/phone scripts, puzzles, poetry, news articles, and site content. Proof-read content and created websites.
Police Say There’s Nothing to Investigate
-Cambridge, MN September 24, 2003
Despite local residents’ reports of unusual activities and strange lights in the abandoned areas of the Cambridge Mental Hospital, local authorities have declared that there is nothing to worry about, the Cambridge Chief of Police’s office said on Tuesday.
A brief investigation was mounted following several calls from Cambridge residents reporting lights in the windows and vehicles entering the grounds of the Cambridge Mental Hospital. The hospital itself is currently mostly shut down and has not been fully operational for several years. Currently the hospital is slated for demolition and new construction projects are supposed to take place on the grounds within the next few years. In a statement issued jointly by the Isanti County Sheriff’s office and the Cambridge Chief of Police on Tuesday, September 23, officials claimed that the activities seen were part of the demolition planning crews and, “There really is nothing to investigate.”
Local Residents Not Convinced
Local residents are not all convinced. The Isanti County Sheriff’s office declared that much of the concern had been stirred up by a recent visitor to the area who had been asking several questions and spreading rumors of wild and illicit activities in the hospital. The County News was unable to identify the visitor at press time, but interviews with several residents who wished to remain anonymous indicate that she told a convincing tale. Those interviewed were uncomfortable giving out any particulars on the story other than the cryptic comment, “We don’t need that type of publicity in our fair town”. Sheriff Bobohead strongly discounted any of the visitor’s statements or residents’ reaction, saying, “I could go to Seattle and tell everyone I’m the reincarnation of Napoleon Bonaparte, but that don’t necessarily make it true.”
Reporters from the County News visited the facility after the statement issued by the Chief of Police’s office on Tuesday, but were unable to find any evidence of anything happening recently other than the usual remnants of teen parties. Predictably, the Cambridge Mental Hospital has been declared a “haunted house” by local children and police are often finding kids on the grounds during the weekend, despite the presence of an on-site caretaker. Attempts to interview the caretaker were unsuccessful.
Authorities cautioned that entering the buildings could be hazardous as they have not been maintained and could be structurally unsound. In addition, trespassing could result in arrest. The property is privately owned. A celebrated drug bust occurred in the main hospital building three years ago, when officials arrested three youths who had been dealing in marijuana at local schools. Over one pound of marijuana was found during the raid.
Anonymous Source Says There’s More to Story
An anonymous caller to the County News offices on Monday evening indicated that officials would discontinue the investigation. The caller stated that there was more to the story than officials were saying, but would not go into specifics. The County News suspects the caller may have been the aforementioned visitor to the area.
Officials stress that there has been nothing out of the ordinary going on at the hospital, but said that anyone with concerns is welcome to call the police office if they think they see anything worth reporting. “Most likely it’s going to be one of those kids smoking something bad for them,” says Sheriff Bobb.