An Indiana middle school teacher was recently arrested after students noticed meth hidden in her scrunchie during a “Family Fun Night” event at school.
Sarah Duncan, 35, allegedly took a picture during Helfrich Park STEM Academy's family event when two students noticed something protruding from her scrunchie. “Both juveniles stated that Duncan let her hair down for the photo,” reads the Evansville police probable cause affidavit. “After the photo, the juveniles cleaned up the area and located a blueish-colored velvet-type scrunchie with a white zipper on the table,” the affidavit continued.
“They noticed the scrunchie was heavier than a typical scrunchie, they opened the zipper pouch and observed a glass vial that contained a white powder substance that the two believed to be drugs along with a cut straw with white powder,” read the affidavit.
The students alerted another teacher who immediately had them discard the vial. Custodial workers say they saw Duncan after the event “frantically searching for some sort of hair tie.” Duncan was taken to be drug tested days later during which time she failed to produce enough urine for an accurate assessment after her first two attempts. Authorities say they noticed "an unauthorized collection container” fall out of her shorts.
“Duncan stated that she was not aware of the pouch/container in her shorts until after she was providing her second sample,” police wrote in their affidavit.
“Duncan stated that she does not know how or when the pouch/container got into her shorts that day. Duncan stated that there may be another one of them at her residence but that they were not purchased by her, but by someone she knows who probably uses them to pass drug screens.”
She was arrested on one count of criminal possession and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. Duncan was also fired from her job the same day as her arrest.
