Parent Finds Crystal Meth In Child's Halloween Candy In Wisconsin

A parent on a Wisconsin Indian reservation found crystal meth in their child’s Halloween candy after a Sunday trick-or-treat event, Wisconsin ABC-affiliate WBAY reported Monday.

The parent turned the drugs over to the Menominee Tribal Police in Keshena around 2:30 a.m. Monday. Authorities tested the “crystal type substance” and determined it was methamphetamine, said Ben Warrington, Tribal Emergency Management Coordinator. However, the child did not ingest the drug.

“Be resilient,” Warrington said. “Nowadays, nothing is off the table. Keep an eye on your kids, keep an eye on the candy.”

At a Monday press conference, officials said they were unsure if the meth was given to the child intentionally or not, according to CBS-affiliate WFRV.

Investigators said they believe this is an isolated incident and have not received any similar reports. Police asked parents to inspect their children’s Halloween candy and to call the Menominee Tribal Police if anything suspicious appears. Police also said they encouraged parents to throw out the Halloween candy once it is checked. Due to the incident, Menominee tribal leaders established collection stations for parents to discard their children’s candy.

While police succeeded in lowering the synthetic marijuana problem the area is experiencing, meth is emerging as a new problem. Menominee Tribal Police Chief Mark Waukau emphasized the timing of the incident was inopportune.

“Kind of ironic at the time here, because yesterday was a real good day. We had a sacred fire keeping walk yesterday afternoon that we took care of. After that was done we had the trick-or-treat event take place in our community,” Waukau said Monday.

“It was kind of ironic that this happened at the same time we’re trying to do some prevention, things that bring our community together because of problems that we’re facing with the drug issues.”

Keshena Primary School notified parents that students were not allowed to bring candy to school on Oct. 31 for the school’s Halloween festivities. The school said it would provide candy for students.