The zany garden gnome thief of Leavenworth, Kan., has built a truly spectacular display of madness.
Police uncovered a cleared-out section of the city's Haven's Park bizarrely adorned with 50 garden gnomes, three chimineas, two hammocks, three lawn chairs, yard lights and other items, according to The Leavenworth Times.
Cops believe all of the items were taken during a recent string of thefts in the area. Shrubs taken from a nearby nursery school were also found planted at the site of what police are calling the mad garden gnome thief's "safe haven."
"It's the strangest thing I've seen," Detective Sgt. Robert Mendoza told The Times. "Nobody's seen anybody up in the area."
Because of the eccentric intricacy of the work, Mendoza said he doesn't think juveniles are to blame.
An officer first stumbled upon the site on Oct. 26, spotting hammocks through the trees while he was stretching his legs.
Cop found intricate trails lined with stones carefully mined from a hole nearby — one leading to an area with benches and another to the area with hammocks, chimineas and gnomes everywhere, Mendoza said.
"It's set up like somebody's back yard," he told The Times. "The work that went into this stuff is amazing."
Mendoza said tools for barbecuing were also found.
"Evidently they were barbecuing up there too," he said.
— Thanks to Out There reader Bobbi B.
The Thames Is Drowning in Cocaine
Londoners are snorting so much nose candy, over 150,000 lines a day, that traces can be found in the River Thames, according to the Sunday Telegraph.
About two kilograms of cocaine, or 80,000 lines, end up in the river every day — after passing through snorters' bodies and sewage plants, the paper's research says.
"Because of the long-term complications of cocaine use, we are looking at a healthcare time bomb," toxologist John Henry told the Telegraph.
FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A woman has been arrested for padding her bra — with a stolen rare parrot.
Jill Knispel, 35, hid the Greenwing parrot in her bra after taking it from her employer, Baby Exotic Birds of Englewood, police said.
When Knispel went to trade the bird for a vintage car, she told the car's owner how she got the animal, according to the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Turns out the car's owner is friends with the man who owns the $2,000 bird.
DNA tests confirmed the bird's identity and Knispel was charged with grand theft.
"The circumstances of the case are the most bizarre I've ever encountered," said veteran wildlife investigator Lenny Barshinger.
— Thanks to Out There reader Shannon O.
Dude, These Protesters Are Real Boobs
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — Two women — members of a group called Breasts Not Bombs — were arrested after they stripped off their tops at the state Capitol to protest measures backed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on Tuesday's special election ballot.
Other protesters were permitted to pare to their brassieres or to pasties without being arrested. Some men in the group also removed their shirts.
The Mendocino-based group went to court last week to block the arrests.
But a federal judge ruled Friday that there is no First Amendment right to bare breasts on the grounds of the state Capitol.
Members previously had demonstrated topless without incident in the San Francisco Bay area and at an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C.
— Thanks to Out There reader Don W.
Why Are You Kicking Yourself?
MIDLAND, Mich. (AP) — A 46-year-old Midland County woman is spending nearly two months in jail for striking a man with one of his prosthetic legs.
A judge also recently ordered Tammy Johnson to pay $600 in costs and spend two years on probation. She also is to pay restitution and not use drugs or alcohol.
Court documents show the fight back in August started when Johnson confronted the man over two broken teeth. She says the man she attacked had broken two of her teeth in 2002.
Johnson used the leg to hit the man on the head. The man was wearing a different prosthetic leg when someone spotted him walking down the street with a bleeding head wound.
— Thanks to Out There reader Kel H.
Jesus Becomes the 'Narco Saint'
BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (AP) — A bandit out of Mexican folklore has become a patron saint to many drug dealers in this city, and some even have altars to the Robin Hood-like character in their homes, authorities say.
Jesus Malverde is known as the "narco saint" by many law enforcement officers and drug dealers. Legends claim that Malverde was caught and hanged as a thief in the early 20th century before he began appearing to people in peril to save them.
Up to 80 percent of Mexican nationals involved in the Bakersfield drug trade have Malverde's likeness on a personal item, police Detective Pete Cavazos estimated.
"It protects the drug dealer and brings good luck to the drug dealer," Cavazos said. "It might sound comical to others, but they take it very, very seriously."
— Thanks to Out There reader Aimee H.
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Andrew Hard.
Got a good "Out There" story in your hometown? We'd like to know about it. Send an e-mail, with a Web link (we need to authenticate these things), to outthere@foxnews.com.
Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox