by Davie Maybe, Associating Press Writer - 55 minutes ago
MEDINA, Ohio - A crock pot of chili, a dozen chicken salad sandwiches, and two gallons of grape kool-aid were reported stolen Tuesday April 14 from a free, non-profit cafe.
In a telephone interview, Mr. Tim Van Arsdale director of the cafe said, "Mike Arnold and I were busy. I think like 44 guests came through the doors? Mike was talking with some teens, and I was helping two families gather food from our pantry. Then all of the sudden, the chili was gone!"
Mr. Van Arsdale believes the culprits to be a band of renegade Somali pirates or dozens of insatiable Medina teens. An investigation of the heist is ongoing.
No formal charges have been filed at this time.
Investigators took pictures of a shoe print. They dusted a deck of UNO cards for fingerprints and acquired a half-eaten bowl of chili and a spoon for DNA testing.
A ransom text message was sent to Mr. Van Arsdale's cell phone. It read:
If u want two c you're chilli alive, give us ice creem every day!
Investigators are not sure if the horrific misspelling and use of the English language was intentional or accidental given the unusual circumstances.
Mr. Van Arsdale told A.P.ING NEWS, "I don't understand it. Why would someone steal something that is free? It seems crazy to me."
The two cafe workers handled the situation just fine.
Mr. Van Arsdale did strain his back taking the massive amounts of trash out to the dumpster. Other than that, no one was seriously injured during the attack.
"I rubbed my back real hard afterwards and then threw on a pot of mac-n-cheese and made more kool-aid," said Mr. Van Arsdale. "Mike Arnold slapped together more sandwiches, and I went back to loading dirty dishes in the dishwasher."
A.P.ING NEWS reports that Cafe 41:11 needs more donations of money and food. They seem to be doing a good work in the community but maybe your church can add the cafe to its list of supported mission organizations?
Or maybe you can help with a monthly donation? Please contact Mr. Tim Van Arsdale at 330-304-5449 or by email: tim@cafe4111.org.