The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Flin Flon RCMP aren't laughing over a bizarre practical joke at KFC that was perceived as an attempted armed robbery. A 21-year-old Flin Flon woman has confessed to recently entering the restaurant while wearing a mask and carrying an ornament of a stuffed ferret perched on a log, which was wrapped in a blanket. She also admitted to trying to joke with a cashier before leaving. The individual who reported the episode to police thought the veiled object in the masked woman's hands may have been a rifle. Police were also told that the woman uttered "This is a holdup" to the cashier. However, the woman has denied making that statement and told police that the incident was a regrettable practical joke that had been misinterpreted. The woman told police she had jokingly portrayed the blanket-wrapped ornament as a cat. Police are still trying to clarify exactly what happened at KFC that day, November 23 at about 5 p.m. Cpl. Leslie Beck said that regardless of whether the incident was meant as a joke, police take the woman's action very seriously. "The point that we want to make is that you can't put on a mask, have something wrapped in a blanket that extends from the body, and not have businesses concerned about what is taking place," she said. "We have to be very careful because when these incidents are reported, police have to treat them as if they are serious." Following the incident, the masked individual left KFC and drove away in a yellow sports car. Two other Flin Flon women, aged 20 and 21, admitted to police that they were in the car at the time. Cpl. Beck stated that the women were surprised to learn the incident had been perceived as an attempted holdup. She said the women turned themselves in soon after an article about the episode appeared in The Reminder on December 2. "This really showed how the media can help us," said Cpl. Beck.
