AGPD Chief Mahan suspects wrongdoing after family finds straight pin in Halloween candy

A local family found a foreign object in their child’s Halloween candy this holiday season after trick or treating in Ash Grove. 
 
The parent, Jaclyn Gray, made a post on Facebook displaying an image of what appeared to be a small nail or straight pin emerging from a Hershey’s chocolate bar.
 
Gray claimed in a Facebook post that she discovered the foreign object by running a magnet over her child’s treats after hearing about needles in candy elsewhere in the state.
 
A similar incident had unfolded in Camden County just a few days prior. According to recent reporting, in that incident authorities recovered four needles, each smaller than an inch, from several pieces of Halloween candy. 
 
In the Ash Grove case, Gray said that the wrapper appeared to be fully sealed and unassuming.
 
“I’m TERRIFIED to take my kids trick or treating ever again,” she said. 
 
Gray subsequently turned in the chocolate bar and a written statement at the Ash Grove Police Department. Despite pessimism shared online about the authenticity of the claim, Ash Grove Chief of Police Joe Mahan told the Commonwealth that he currently suspects wrongdoing. 
 
“When I examined the candy bar wrapper, there was a hole in the wrapper that is consistent with where that straight pin was pushed in,” he said. 
 
Mahan said this is the first time he has ever encountered this situation after an extensive career in law enforcement. 
 
“I’ve never come across this before at all,” he said. “I thought… it was an old wives’ tale.”
 
 
No leads to pursue
Authorities currently have no leads on who might have pushed the pin into the candy, but Mahan encourages parents to check their children’s hauls of candy for any foreign objects. If any are found, he asks that they be brought to the police department for further investigation. 
 
In her Facebook post, Gray said that she took her family trick-or-treating on Main Street, by the park and senior living homes, the nursing home and the neighborhood on Moonlight Valley drive. 
 
“My main focus is on the safety and the welfare of the children that went trick-or-treating,” said Mahan. “I don’t want to see this not taken seriously and there be another incident.”