Burglary suspect found crammed in spiral tube slide at playground, Florida cops say

The search for a burglary suspect in North Florida got a little weird, as deputies found a 45-year-old woman stuffed in a spiral tube slide built for kids, investigators say.

She wasn’t stuck, but apparently had no intention of leaving. That meant a deputy had to forcefully pull her out — like the cork in a bottle.

It happened just after sunset Saturday, Feb. 10, at Casa Montessori School in Palm Coast, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said in a Feb. 12 news release. Palm Coast is about 60 miles south of Jacksonville.

Deputies were called to the preschool after someone reported “a suspicious person” was pulling door handles on vehicles and throwing things around on the playground, officials said.

A sergeant with the sheriff’s office encountered a suspect on the playground, and she was not cooperative.

“She ignored commands to exit the playground and attempted to hide in a corkscrew tube slide,” the sheriff’s office reports.

“After being removed from the slide, (she) struck (a sergeant) with her elbow across the face while he attempted to restrain her.”

Video shows the woman was argumentative as a deputy put her in a patrol car.

A search of the campus revealed the suspect “had thrown several playground playsets over the fence, tipped over others, gained access to a shed on the property, and attempted to gain access to both businesses through several windows,” officials said.

She was charged with two counts of burglary, resisting arrest with violence and battery on law enforcement officer, the sheriff’s office said. Bond was set at $15,000, officials said.

Casa Montessori School has 54 students in kindergarten and pre-kindergarten, Private School Review says.

This story was originally published February 14, 2024 at 10:40 AM with the headline "Burglary suspect found crammed in spiral tube slide at playground, Florida cops say."