Panties puzzle: Thousands left on Ohio road

LANCASTER, Ohio - Authorities in central Ohio are trying to solve a panties puzzle: why hundreds of pairs of mostly women's underwear were dumped along the side of a road.

Fairfield County Deputy Gary Hummel said Thursday the undergarments were found in trees and on hillsides in several spots this week on a road in Berne Township, about 30 miles southeast of Columbus.

He says some of the panties were still folded the way they'd come in packaging, while others appeared to have been worn. There were between 1,500 and 3,000 pairs in all, in a mix of colors and patterns. Hummel says when collected, they filled 10 large trash bags.

He says investigators are "baffled" as to where the panties came from.

There were four dumping locations along a one mile-stretch of road, reports CBS News affiliate WBNS Columbus.

The Fairfield County Sheriff's Office said they believed they were dumped in bags from discount and grocery stores.

"I came up and looked for myself and after I got here I couldn't believe what I was seeing," said Jim Carmichael, Berne Township Trustee. "We're just looking at it like somebody has done this and we want to find out who done it."