Idaho Officials Seeking ‘Plastic-Wrap Pranksters’ Stretching Plastic Across Interstate

The Shoshone County, Idaho Sheriffs department is looking for a person - or persons - with lots of plastic wrap on their hands, and it's not for a good reason.

Authorities are looking for what they believe is a group of people who have been wrapping plastic wrap around light or sign poles on Interstate 90, then stretching it across the freeway and attaching it on the other side. Then they sit back and watch the vehicles plow through it, but with increasingly dangerous results.

At first read, this might sound humorous but Shoshone County officials say several dangerous incidents have been reported, all of them near Wallace, Idaho where the freeway runs by.

Several cars that have hit the tightly stretched clear plastic sheets have been damaged significantly.  Last week, one vehicle struck a sheet that was mounted slightly higher than previous ones, and it completely shattered it's windshield!

A Shoshone County deputy says plastic wrap is similar to water in that if a car or person hits it at slow speed or close range, it doesn't cause any problems.  But like water,  plastic wrap can be deadly if struck at high speed.  It's tensile strength can do a lot more damage than imagined.

The deputy said a cyclist riding at 15-20 miles per hour could very likely be killed by being thrown from their bike if they rode into it.  He says with warmer weather, a lot more riders will be cycling along or near the Interstate by Wallace, spelling the potential for disaster.

The reason for concern is because the Saran-Wrap Pranksters (named after the most popular brand of wrap) or Plasctic-Wrap Pranksters  are only doing their pranking at night when the clear wrap is almost impossible to see until you're literally a few feet from it - with no time to even hit the brakes.

Authorities have no leads except that the pranksters all wear dark clothing and carry flashlights.  Shoshone County authorities say if anyone is killed because of these "pranksters" actions, they will face manslaughter charges.