Girl finds copper wire, needles, other foreign objects in Halloween candy in Waukegan, Illinois, police say

Police in north suburban Waukegan were investigating after a 9-year-old girl found sewing needles, bobby pins, copper wire, and other foreign objects in her Halloween candy.

Waukegan police said, around 7:30 p.m., they received a report of a child receiving Halloween candy that had been tampered with.

A woman told police her 9-year-old daughter found foreign objects in some of her Halloween candy after she went trick-or-treating.

The mother told police her daughter had watched a video that suggested checking Halloween candy for foreign objects by placing a magnet in a candy bag to see if it sticks to anything.

The girl placed a magnet in her candy bag, and noticed the magnet was sticking to some of the pieces of chocolate candy.

Her mother then found sewing needles, bobby pins, copper wire, plastic, and a gold nail inside the candy, and she called police.

The girl had gone trick-or-treating in the area of Flossmoor Avenue, Leith Avenue, and Ridgeland Avenue, and visited homes near Waukegan High School, but could not determine where she got the tampered candy.

Police collected the candy and foreign objects as evidence and an investigation remained open as of Tuesday.

Police said they have not received any similar reports of tampered candy.