12-foot inflatable snowman smashed by mystery driver
INDIANAPOLIS – A 12-foot blow-up Christmas decoration toppled over Sunday night in Indiana. The wind didn't do it. Neither did Santa's sleigh, though tracks were left in the family's front yard.
Daniel and Casie Arnold were inside their home in Greenwood, just south of Indianapolis, watching Netflix's "The Christmas Chronicles" with their two boys when they heard an odd noise. It was just after 8:30 p.m.
"Ultimately, it was kind of just a 'pop' sound," Casie Arnold said. "It wasn't substantially loud, but it was enough to make us look at each other and say, 'What was that?' "
After initially thinking it was their furnace, the couple peeked outside, where they saw the deflated snowman.
"(Daniel) saw that it was down, so he opens the door, and he goes out in his bare feet," she said. "You could very clearly, distinctively see the tire tracks in the yard, and you think, 'Oh my gosh!' "
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Video footage from a neighbor's security cameras shows a driver in a hoodie pull up in front of the home in a black SUV. The unidentified individual then steps out of the vehicle and looks at the Arnolds' house before driving onto the lawn and into the snowman.
While the Arnolds said they have heard stories about Christmas decorations in their area being damaged – perhaps by "crazy kids," as Casie Arnold put it – this was different because the vehicle came so close to their home.
"I thought that was certainly an extreme, to come that far up into the yard and come that close to the house," Daniel Arnold said.
The way the driver stopped to look at the house concerned Casie Arnold, too.
"Quite honestly, you think it's targeted or done with some intention," she said.
The next day, the couple uploaded the video to the neighborhood's Facebook group.
"Everyone wants to make it known that the neighborhood is watching and this is not going to be tolerated," Casie Arnold said. "Everyone has been really supportive of this (video) going out so this person doesn't damage other parts of the community."
The couple contacted the Greenwood Police Department and filed a report for criminal mischief. There are no updates in the case, she said.
In the meantime, her family is moving on.
"My husband came home from work with a new one tonight," she said with a laugh.
Follow Ethan May on Twitter: @EthanMayJ.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: 12-foot inflatable snowman smashed by mystery driver
