Fountains are spewing bubbles, and SC police want to catch the soapy suspect

The police are looking for an unidentified bubble bandit (or bandits).

A suspect, who has struck multiple times, is being sought for vandalism — and potentially more charges.

The vandal’s target has been fountains in Florence, and across South Carolina’s PeeDee region.

The fountains have had gallons of liquid soap poured into them by the vandal, causing them to overflow with bubbles.

The bubbles have poured out of the top of the fountains, piling up on the ground and on nearby roads, and have even bubbled up through sewage vents in the area, showing there is more going on than meets the eye.

There have been three reported incidents in Florence, according to the Florence Police Department, which said there are also reports of fountains being soaped in nearby Darlington and Marion.

It might seem like a harmless prank, but police are taking the vandalism seriously.

One of the reasons police are searching for a suspect, or suspects, is because property is being damaged. After a fountain on the campus of Francis Marion University was targeted Monday, police said it could cost about $3,000 to repair the damage.

“Hopefully people will understand that it may seem funny at first, but there is a cost,” Lt. Mike Brandt told The State about the fountain vandalism. “And that cost filters out to all of us.”

That includes draining the fountain of a significant amount of water, cleaning the bubble-causing substance away, and assessing if any damage has been done to the fountain’s machinery. There’s also the cost of paying someone for this unexpected labor.

“It causes damage to the jets and the equipment. He could cause it to deteriorate the seals with that soap. So, it causes a lot of damage,” said Williard Larymore, who cleaned the fountain that he estimated was filled with a two-and-a-half-gallon bucket of dish soap, WPDE reported.

Brandt also pointed out another side effect of the vandalism — dangerous driving conditions.

After the fountain was soaped Monday, WPDE reported that people in the area “could hardly see the road.”

Beyond the possible perils of obstructed, or slippery conditions, there is the danger presented by distracted drivers.

“Seeing a fountain overflowing with bubbles is a distraction, it’s a serious distraction,” Brandt said.

In addition to the Francis Marion campus fountain, police reported that other incidents have occurred Aug. 4 at a fountain near a sign that reads “Welcome to Florence,” in addition to two fountains a block apart that both overflowed with bubbles shortly after midnight Aug. 6.

“It might seem that there are more serious matters for the police to deal with, but each incident will be given their due investigations,” Brandt said. “We are going to identify and bring the person responsible to justice.”

Florence police are asking for the public’s help in identifying the driver of a red Ford Expedition who is “wanted for questioning,” in relation to Monday’s incident.

But Brandt said there is not enough information at this time to indicate if one suspect is responsible for all of the incidents, or if there are multiple vandals or copycats at work.

“We are going to look at each of the incidents and try to find out about the damages and the parties responsible,” Brandt said, before making an appeal to anyone involved with the vandalism. “Somebody could say, ‘that’s funny, that’s a great idea.’ But they’re not thinking about more than 30 seconds of video they are going to share on social media.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact the Florence Police Department at 843-665-3191.

This story was originally published August 14, 2018 at 6:15 PM.