The Odd Truth, June 3, 2004

The Odd Truth is a collection of strange but factual news stories from around the world compiled by CBSNews.com's Brian Bernbaum.

Man Nearly Drowns For Keys

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A man who nearly drowned while trying to retrieve his car keys from a lake bottom - using a garden hose to breathe - will try again Thursday with a trained diver.

Michael Hatfield, 54, lost his car keys in Longview Lake on Memorial Day. The Missouri State Water Patrol said he used the hose to snorkel 30-feet below the surface, with a 20-pound boat anchor tied to his waist to help him reach the bottom.

On one attempt, the garden hose slipped from his mouth. Hatfield, unable to breathe, became disoriented, the water patrol said.

A spotter holding a rope tied to Hatfield pulled him to safety after sensing trouble.

Hatfield was not breathing for a short time after he surfaced, but eventually began breathing on his own. Authorities said he refused medical treatment.

"I'm shaking now, thinking about what could have been," Hatfield said.

"Keys can really be replaced," he said. "At the time, I did not think about that. It was really an embarrassment."

Cops Catch Serial Poop Planter

PORTLAND, Maine - Call it the poo plot. Authorities in Portland, Maine, say they've caught the woman responsible for spreading dog poo in a local park. Undercover officers staked out Deering Oaks Park and say they saw Lora Leland dumping dog doo from a shopping bag. Police say Leland was angry about a Saturday morning farmer's market, because it interfered with her bike riding. Farmers had been complaining about the mess for the better part of two summers. Police say Leland would save her own dog's droppings and would follow dog owners and collect dog doo from garbage cans. She's been banned from the park for a year and faces a misdemeanor criminal mischief charge.

Naked, Intoxicated Man Caught Showering In Car Wash

WOODSTOCK, Ontario - A 39-year-old man was arrested after stripping off his clothes and entering a car wash for an impromptu shower.

Police say a cab stopped to fill up at a gas station about 10 p.m. Tuesday when the passenger from Thamesford, Ontario, got out and decided to have a wash before going home, the Woodstock Sentinel-Review reported. The man's name wasn't released.

Police found the man naked and intoxicated.

He has been charged with being intoxicated in a public place.

One Foot In The Grave

KENAI - Hazel Felton did not have a near-death experience over the weekend, but she did have one foot in the grave - literally.

Felton was cleaning up around family graves Sunday at Kenai Cemetery when her dog Boo Boo's leash became entangled in a wooden cross beside a nearby headstone. When she stepped onto the grave to get a better angle to free the terrier's leash, the ground collapsed under her foot.

"I put one leg in past my hip bone. That's about 34 inches," Felton said.

Planting her foot nearly a yard deep in an old grave understandably disturbed Felton, and she got herself out fast.

"I just shot outta there like a light," she said. "It just creeped me out."

Equally creepy for Felton is the fact she was named after the daughter of the man whose grave she fell into. Warder Showalter's daughter Hazel, who died shortly before Felton was born, was a good friend of Felton's mother.

Felton, who was uninjured in the mishap, called the Showalter family to let them know what happened. After hearing the story, Adeline Chaffin found humor in the incident.

"I ask Hazel, 'Were you playing footsie with my dad?"' Chaffin said.

Chaffin and her husband were concerned someone else might fall into the grave, so the couple went out to the cemetery the next day to see the hole for themselves and put up some safety measures.

Bob Frates, director of the Division of Parks and Recreation, which maintains the cemetery, has never had a grave collapse before. His department routinely compacts the earth over a new grave and allows it time to settle before adding more soil and compacting again, if necessary.

Cop's Son Steals Cruiser, Pulls Over Ex

AUBURNDALE, Fla. - A police officer's son stole his dad's cruiser in the middle of the night and used it to pull over his ex-girlfriend, authorities said.

Richard Melius, 20, first made more than a dozen harassing phone calls to the former girlfriend, then stole the cruiser's keys while his father, Lakeland Sgt. Mark Melius, was sleeping early Tuesday, officials said.

He later spotted the woman, Tabitha McKenzie, driving in Auburndale, turned on the cruiser's emergency lights and pulled her over, the Polk County sheriff's office said.

McKenzie, who is pregnant with Melius' child, called her family for help. McKenzie's stepfather arrived, and the younger Melius drove home, the report said.

He was arrested there on multiple charges, including stalking, falsely impersonating a law enforcement officer and grand theft auto, according to jail records. He also is charged with burglary, driving with a suspended license and violation of probation.

It could not be determined if he has an attorney.

'Accident Prone' Horse Pulled From Sinkhole

KODAK, Tenn. - A 10-year-old mare labeled "accident prone" by her owner was rescued from a 20-foot sinkhole after a daylong effort by rescue squads from two counties.

Nelly, who a veterinarian believes is pregnant, was discovered missing at about 9 a.m. Tuesday by her owner, Kimberly Ford. The 1,200- to 1,400-pound horse was pulled from the sinkhole about 10 hours later by a crane using a sling donated by the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine.

The horse, sedated before being pulled out, was tired and had a few scratches but otherwise unharmed, said veterinarian Dr. Lisa Garren.

"She's doing remarkably well," Garren said.

Ford said she initially thought Nelly had escaped from her property but could not find an escape hole in the fence. She then searched the field and found a 3-foot wide hole in the ground. Below the ground the hole opened to about 8 to 10 feet wide and about 20 feet deep, filled with muddy water and debris.

Nelly was standing on all fours, with the water reaching her chest area.

Rescue personnel from the Knoxville Volunteer Emergency Rescue Squad worked along with the Sevier County Rescue Squad, Sevier County Sheriff's Department and Garren to free the mare.

"She's still got quite a few good years left," Ford said. "She's accident prone."

When Nelly was a couple years old she had surgery on her hip after being hurt by a fence post. Then at age 4 or 5, she had to be pulled out of a well that was about 8 feet deep, Ford said.