A 12-year-old child in Morley, Alta., returned from trick-or-treating on Monday night with a not-so-sweet surprise hiding in a bag of candy -- two sewing needles concealed inside large chocolate bars.
The child and her mother spotted the tampered treats before anyone was hurt, but the family says the ordeal was enough to scare them away from collecting Halloween candy for good.
“It wasn’t one but two, that’s when I started to freak out. I told the kids ‘don’t touch the candy,’” Amanda Goodstoney told CTV News Calgary. “To actually see it and to actually experience it, it was terrifying. All the what-ifs go through your head.”
While most cases of tainted Halloween candy turn out to be hoaxes, this latest incident follows a string of chilling discoveries across the country.
Halifax police are investigating after a 12-year-old boy reportedly cut his thumb on a razor blade stuck in a chocolate bar when he was sifting through his bag of candy. In Ontario, Halton police said a 12-year-old girl returned home from trick-or-treating in Milton with a mini liquor bottle in her bag.
Goodstoney said she is aware of the false reports -- like the Ottawa couple whose daughter’s needle-laced candy turned out to be planted by someone in the house -- but insists the risks to her family were terrifyingly real.
The Goodstoneys live in Morley, but have made a tradition of going trick-or-treating in Cochrane, Alta. with family and friends.
“If it was meant to discourage or scare, that’s what they did. They scared me and my kids away from enjoying that little tradition we had going,” she said.
Cochrane RCMP are working to find the address where the chocolate bars were handed out. They are appealing to the public to help with their search.
“If there are any other incidents with tampered candy, the RCMP are strongly encouraging it to be reported to help narrow down where this could have taken place,” said the Cochrane RCMP in a statement Wednesday.
With a report from CTV Calgary’s Kathy Le
