Hide And Seek In Prince George County Turns To Trespassing

A game of hide and seek in Prince George County has led to the players being charged with trespassing.

You know the game. Hide and seek was one of those games we played outside before videogames made it more fun to just stay indoors. One person is designated the seeker and has to close their eyes for a few seconds while everybody else hides. When the time is up, the seeker looks for everybody else. You’ve probably never heard of a game of hide and seek of this magnitude before.

A game of hide and seek involving almost 300 was being played in a park in Prince George, Virginia, when police charged in and caught 19 young adults and teenagers, identifying another 149, on August 5 in Temple park. The group was participating in a game they called “Manhunt,” and after the police broke it up, they were given some options.

Police Chief Ed Frankenstein and Attorney Jay Paul told all of them that charges would be dropped against those with correct ID if they agreed to community service and signed a statement saying they were trespassing.

Only 168 of the hide and seek participants were charged, while the remainder fled the scene.

It is unknown what the rules were for the hide and seek game that led to so many people ages 15 to 26 being in legal trouble, but the park they were playing the game in clearly had a sign against trespassers, especially after dark. It may have been little more than just general mischief in the name of having some fun, but that doesn’t explain why a good percentage of them fled when police arrived, unless they had something else to hide.

Prince George, VA charges 160 people with trespassing, for playing “Manhunt” in a public park after dark. #facepalm

— Patrick McCulley (@panther_modern) August 14, 2013

One player, Ben Poe, 19, said that he understands the legal side of the trespassing charges, but doesn’t understand the moral reasoning.

Playing hide and seek in a public park after dark can lead to criminal activity if you run into the wrong people with the wrong intentions. The law is there for the public’s own protection.

What do you think of the trespassing charges for the group playing hide and seek in Prince George County, Virginia?