Church Member Reponsible for Leaving 'Disturbing' Dolls in Calif. Neighborhood
Residents in Orange County, California are no longer questioning the appearance of "disturbing" porcelain dolls on their doorsteps after learning a member of their local church had dropped off the items as she cleared out her vast toy collection.
Eight residents in the community of Talega, located in San Clemente, contacted police after they discovered porcelain dolls sitting on their doorsteps that resembled their daughters. Parents who received the dolls told police that they found the strange gifts to be "creepy" and "disturbing," especially since they did not know of their origin. All of the girls who received their look-a-like doll attend the same elementary school.
"It's really creepy and disturbing. As a mom with a daughter, it freaks me out," one neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, told NBC Los Angeles. "Hopefully it's a prank and not someone with very bad motives."
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The dolls were first dropped off at the homes on July 16. Orange County Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Hallock told KTLA that he found the gifts to be "creepy or very unusual," especially because they contained no note or threatening letter.
"It's peculiar, strange and weird and all that stuff," Hallock added to the Los Angeles Daily News. "People are saying the dolls slightly resemble their daughters, which is creepy."
After an investigation, the Orange County Sherriff's Office released a statement saying that it had discovered a woman living in the same neighborhood was the one who had dropped the dolls off at the girls' home.
The woman reportedly attends the same church as most of the affected families and gave the dolls to the girls as a gesture of good will when she was clearing out her expansive doll collection.
"The woman attended church with many of the impacted families," Lt. Hallock told NBC Los Angeles. The lieutenant added to KTLA that the woman's intentions were good and that she is now embarrassed for filling the quiet beachside community with fear.
"Because her intentions were good, she felt embarrassed at the fear she instilled in the community," Hallock said. "She just thought she was being nice."
The woman who dropped off the dolls reportedly did so because her own children are grown and she had no reason to keep the toys in her home anymore.
