Eaton Rapids closes playground after finding 41 razor blades on equipment

EATON RAPIDS — A group of people at an Eaton Rapids playground discovered 39 razor blades on the equipment, police said. 

Officers recovered an additional two blades after they were called at about 4:40 p.m. Monday to the playground at Howe Field, according to a news release from the Eaton Rapids Police Department. 

Some of the blades appeared to have been intentionally placed to cause harm, according to the release. 

Witnesses told police they saw four teenagers, two boys and two girls, on the playground equipment, according to the release. They were about 17 or 18 years old and were last seen walking north away from the playground. One of the girls had blonde hair and one boy had brown hair. 

Howe Park is closed and will remain closed until further notice. The city is rechecking the area for blades Tuesday. 

Cody Orr, who lives just down the street from the park, was "magnet fishing" nearby when he saw uniformed officers in the park. He lent them some of his high-powered magnets to search for razor blades, he said. 

Orr said they found a box of 100 razor blades on a picnic table at the park. He said 20 of the razor blades were in a circle pattern out in the open and the others were hidden in the park. 

"We've never had anything like this happen," Orr said. "Luckily parents saw it before the kids went down the slides...I hope they find them and I hope they throw the book down." 

The city is offering a $1,000 reward for anyone with information that leads to the arrest and conviction of a suspect or suspects. 

Anyone with information can call Officer Richard Dover at 517-663-8118, extension 8532, or email rdover@cityofeatonrapids.com. 

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Contact reporter Kara Berg at 517-377-1113 or kberg@lsj.com. Follow her on Twitter @karaberg95.