Reports of creepy clowns luring kids expand into second state

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- Claims of creepy clowns trying to lure kids have expanded into a second state. In reports eerily similar to recent clown sightings that have garnered the national spotlight near Greenville, South Carolina, two children have reported seeing a clown trying to lure kids into the woods with treats about 175 miles to the northeast in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Just like investigators in their neighboring state to the south, police in Winston-Salem have stepped up patrols, but haven’t been able to substantiate any of the reports.

In the most recent incident, police said in a news release that officers were called to the area around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

Authorities say two North Carolina children said they saw the clown, and one adult reported hearing the clown. According to the two kids, the clown was wearing white overalls, white gloves, and red shoes and had red bushy hair, a white face, and a red nose, according to CBS affiliate WFMY. They told police he offered them treats like candy if they would come into the woods.

Officers say they found no evidence of a clown in the woods.

About four hours later, a caller who refused to give a name reported seeing a clown about two miles away. Police say they found no evidence of a clown in that incident either.

Police in South Carolina have tallied six similar sightings so far. In the first incident, reported Aug. 21, a police report described a “suspicious character ... dressed in circus clown attire and white face paint, enticing kids to follow him/her into the woods.”

A woman told a responding deputy that her son had “seen clowns in the woods whispering and making strange noises.”

Since then, more reports of clown sightings have cropped up. Several children in the area told police clowns had displayed “large amounts of money” in an attempt to lure them into the woods. The children said they believed the clowns lived in “a house located near a pond at the end of a man-made trail in the woods,” according to the police report, but investigators say they have found the house to be abandoned.

So far, police have turned up no evidence to substantiate the claims.

Police in North Carolina say they are aware of the similar reports in South Carolina, reports CBS affiliate WSPA.​ Monday, police were back in the area conducting door-to-door investigations in Winston-Salem.

Law enforcement officials in South Carolina have spoken out to whoever is behind the sightings, warning them that they could be prosecuted.

“The clowning around needs to stop,”​ said Greenville police chief Ken Miller at a press conference Thursday. “It’s illegal, it’s dangerous, it’s inappropriate, it’s creating community concern.”