Clown from amusement park found in sex offender's home???

[Omaha Steve]

http://bigstory.ap.org/article/d5821e9318e5436493327701f18224b6/clown-amusement-park-found-sex-offenders-home

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — A ceramic clown that went missing from a closed Wichita amusement park more than a decade ago has been found at the home of a sex offender who once worked at the park.

The return of Louie the Clown, the mascot of the Joyland amusement park, was announced during a media briefing Thursday.

Wichita police say officers found the clown statue Tuesday at a home of 39-year-old Damian Mayes, who is serving a prison sentence for a 2010 conviction for aggravated indecent liberties with a child and aggravated criminal sodomy

Mayes built and repaired organs at the park before he was charged.

FULL story at link.



Wichita police burglary detective Matt Lang discusses how he located Joyland's organ-playing mascot Louie the Clown, foreground, at the daily police briefing in the Wichita City Hall police headquarters, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2015, in Wichita, Kan. Louie, who went missing from a closed Wichita amusement park more than a decade ago, was found at the home of a sex offender who used to work at the park. (AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Mike Hutmacher)

[fadedrose]

1. Ouch!! nt

[TwilightGardener]

2. Nope. Nothing creepy about that at all.

[JaneyVee]

3. Fuckin creepy.

[Rhinodawg]

4. What's the deal between sex offenders and clowns ?

[NightWatcher]

5. Offenders like JW Gacy became clowns to get access to kids

Some sexual offenders get jobs that give them access and cover.

If you're a plumber there's no reason for a kid to sit on your lap at a party. If you're a clown it might be perfectly normal to see a kid climb in their lap.

[Rhinodawg]

7. Sheeeesh... Can it get any creepier ?

[alcibiades_mystery]

9. I thought Gacy's victims were mostly older teens

I don't doubt that sex offenders find ways to best access their victims, but in Gacy's case, wasn't the clown thing more about his civic profile? I don't really know the full story, but I thought he lured most of his victims through promises of work.

[ND-Dem]

12. you're right.

[hifiguy]

6. Oh-kaaaaay.

Well isn't that just creepier than shit. I still hate clowns though.

[olddots]

8. Bozo used to freak me out .

YIKES

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

10. I could not sleep in the same house as that thing

Too many horror movies, I guess.

[ND-Dem]

11. Someone hopes to restore Joyland as a non-profit, so this should be helpful.

http://www.joylandrestorationproject.org/

http://www.laffinthedark.com/articles/tracy/tracy1.htm

I love amusement parks and similar venues.


Joyland Amusement Park first opened on June 12th of 1949 by the Ottaway family. It was first opened on East Central Ave. before it moved to 2801 S. Hillside where it is today. Joyland is home to one of the last standing original wooden roller coasters designed by Philadelphia Toboggan Company (now Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters), which shows that it can stand the test of time. The ride is considered an American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) classic coaster. Joyland has had its share of rides in the park, which constantly changed over the years; many of the rides are historical rides, including the Whacky Shack, a Bill Tracy Dark Ride, the last dark ride project Tracy completed before his death. Whacky Shack is one of the last rides of its kind.

There was a Wurlitzer Organ once installed in the park, and if you ask anyone in the city of Wichita who played the organ, they’ll probably tell you “that scary clown, Louie.” Louie was a clown that sat at the bench of the organ, his hands going back and forth as if he were playing it. He was not the best looking clown in the world, rather scary actually, but everyone (who wasn’t scared to death of him) seemed to enjoy him. When Joyland reached its downfall beginning in the early 2000′s, many Wichitans were worried about the future of the park. In 2006, a company based in Florida came in in attempts to reopen the park, but realized at the end of the 2006 season that it would not be possible to open it the following year. So that is where our project comes in, we are looking to not only fully restore Joyland, but make it an attraction that is well known from coast to coast. We are going to reopen Joyland a non-profit amusement park, and plan to partner with local nonprofits.