Page 16 - March 2024 SRG Flipbook

16 | April 2024
Slippery Rock Gazette
The Stone Detective
Welcome to
the Machine
Police came to the aid of a 3-year-old boy after he became trapped inside a claw machine at a suburban shopping mall in Australia.
Video of the unusual rescue one Saturday was shared on social media by Queensland
Police. It showed the toddler sitting inside the glass-walled box filled with plush toys, blissfully unaware of his predicament.
The boy’s father, Timothy Hopper, said his son had disappeared into the claw machine’s prize dispenser and was inside it in a “split second.”
“I had zero chance to react. It was unbe- lievable how fast he climbed up there,” the Australian Broadcasting Corporation
reported Mr. Hopper saying.
The video then shows the officers and
the boy’s parents encouraging him into a safe corner at the back of the machine, and to cover his eyes while the police shatter a glass panel to free him unharmed.
The video ends with one of the officers joking with the boy, “You won a prize. Which one do you want?”
Continued from page 12
Then I got an idea. I told her I would be right back. I went out to the Woody and grabbed my stethoscope. I went back inside and, lo and behold, I could hear a faint tap- ping sound. I placed my stethoscope up against the wall and sure enough, there was a weird tapping sound. It would start and then it would stop. I had no idea what the sound might be so I told her a destruc- tive test would be needed. Fortunately, it was possible to access the back of the wall from a closet on the other side of the shower wall.
I gathered my tools and cut a 12 x 12 inch panel out of the drywall. I shined a light into the hole and saw part of the water- proof membrane shredded on the floor! And then saw what was causing the sound. On the floor was a copious amount of rat or mouse droppings. So, the weird sound she was hearing was likely a rodent in the wall chewing on the waterproof mem- brane. This was a new one on me. I told her she needed to call an exterminator, since the sound she was hearing was that ener- getic chewing on the membrane. It didn’t seem to be leaking yet, so once those dirty rats were caught the sound should stop. She had a bigger issue, though. I recom- mended she consider getting the membrane replaced. Another case was solved and a new one for my case files.
The Stone Detective is a fictional character created by Dr. Frederick M. Hueston, PhD, written to entertain and educate. Dr. Fred has written over 33 books on stone and tile installations, fabrication and restoration and also serves as an expert for many legal cases across the world. Send your comments to fhueston@stoneforensics.com.