Sheriff handles the usual unusual calls

Call it a typical day at the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, which means it was full of peculiar queries, perpendicular pedestrians, mistaken reports and anxiety over animals.

A man called to report that while he was “Dumpster diving” in Bigfork, someone took a picture of his license plate. The caller wanted to know if “Dumpster diving” was illegal, and the record states he had all his questions answered. The record did not state whether or not “Dumpster diving” is illegal, but it is certainly frowned upon for a number of health and safety reasons.

A woman on Shady Lane wondered if a deputy could arrest her 10-year-old son to “scare him straight.” Dispatch advised her that was not a child-rearing tactic the sheriff’s office practices.

A man was lying in the snow near U.S. 35 near Bigfork. The man was found to be all right, just resting, and left alone since he was “not impeding traffic.”

Ice fishing gear was found sans fisherman on Egan Slough near Robocker Lane. A caller was concerned because there was a hole in the ice “big enough that someone could have fallen through” and a lot of water was splashed up around the hole. Fortunately, the fisherman was eventually located in another area.

“Emaciated llamas” were reported on Berne Road. Responding officers found the llamas were shy and would not get close, but appeared healthy at a distance and had food.

Dispatch received a strange call that sounded like phone buttons being pushed repeatedly and voices. A call back to the number found a dog had been stepping on the phone. The dog’s owner did not believe the pup had an emergency to report.

Whitefish Police Department responded to a call that a suspicious looking man was going through items outside a thrift shop on East First Street.

A volunteer noticed “blood all over the floor” outside an apartment while delivering food to an apartment complex on Edgewood Place in Whitefish. Responding officers found a senior resident inside the room had fallen and was unconscious.

Two ducks were reported blocking the roadway on Second Street East in Kalispell. One duck was injured, and the caller was concerned that the birds could cause an accident. Responding officers from the Kalispell Police Department reported one duck deceased, but released the remaining duck into the wild.

A suspicious male “left some drops of blood” on the floor at a business on Hutton Ranch Road.

A different suspicious male was seen lying in a driveway on Seventh Avenue West screaming and groaning. The caller reporting the incident said he had to leave for work, but officers should be able to locate the male without a problem; dispatch could hear him over the phone.

A man from Texas called dispatch requesting officers check on his brother who recently had surgery. The caller reported he had not heard from his brother in a week, and asked that if officers found him, they “smack him around a little and tell him to stay in contact with his family.” Officers were able to contact the man’s daughter, who reported he was fine.