GEORGIA (WTXL) - What with all the rumors of clowns with white vans creeping around children in other states, South Georgia police are speaking out against the panic, claiming there is no credibility to the alleged "clown sightings".
On a Facebook post, Gene Scarbrough, Tift County's Sheriff, said that he spoke with the county's school superintendent and he has found no validity in the claims.
"Mr. Atwater [Superintendent] advised me that the schools have been flooded with parents calling the schools concerning these rumors. He advised me that he has checked with every school principal about the rumors and each of them have absolutely no information concerning clown activity at their respective school," said Sheriff Scarbrough.
According to the Associated Press, the rumors come after several reports of clowns being spotted around children in other states, though authorities have determined some of those cases to be false.
Bainbridge Public Safety said on their Facebook page that the clown reports could also be blamed on social media.
The organization posted that, "The internet and social media sites have been plagued with reports of clowns, attempting to lure children into the woods or otherwise terrorizing communities around the world... Bainbridge Public Safety will continue to take these calls seriously, and would like to make it clear that this kind of behavior is neither funny or amusing."
They also said that many of the complaints in their area were found to be false, which has resulted in arrests.
As for what concerned parents are to do about the clown reports, Sheriff Scarbrough told parents to avoid acting irrationally.
"I ask and plead with you to not get on social media and post anything in regards to this activity unless you have verified the information with either the Tift County Sheriff's office or Tifton Police Department. This only causes panic among the population and we certainly don't need that, especially if it started as a malicious rumor," said the Sheriff.
Bainbridge Public Safety, however, expects more of these "clown-sightings" as Halloween approaches.
