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Example video title will go here for this video Wooden Toy Box
INDIANAPOLIS — A mystery in Marion County has a lot of people searching for answers.
Someone is placing white collection boxes in parking lots near downtown.
On the outside, the white wooden boxes say, "clothes and shoes," with an opening for folks to drop items off inside.
"Been asking people about it from the neighborhood. Nobody seems to know. It seems to be a big mystery where these things come from," said Robert Newport, who manages McGowan Hall at 15th and Delaware streets, a community center run by the Knights of Columbus.
A few weeks ago, Newport said a dropbox showed up and was just sitting in the parking lot of the center.
"Showed up in the middle of the night," Newport explained, saying there was no indication who the box belonged to, who left it there, or who was asking for clothes and shoes.
"Nobody reached out about it and we maybe could have collaborated with somebody. This is the kind of thing we do here," Newport said.
The box outside McGowan Hall isn't the only one.
13News found a handful more, like one in the parking lot of a Walgreen's at 16th and Meridian streets, one in the parking lot of an apartment building at 21st and Talbot streets and another in the parking lot of a gas station at Delaware Avenue and Saint Joseph Street.
No one at those locations knew who put the boxes there either, but explained, that just like with the box at McGowan Hall, these boxes also showed up in the middle of the night.
"It's like, 'What is the intention?' Who's behind it?" asked Newport.
"If it's charitable, we may work with you. If it's not, that's not cool. If you're just getting clothes for yourself and trying to sell them on the clothing market," Newport added, explaining that he reached out to some charitable organizations to ask if the boxes were theirs.
"If it's from Saint Vincent de Paul, or Goodwill or Salvation Army, it will say it on there," Newport added, saying he'd like to know who's behind these boxes, in part, because one is sitting on private property.
"It's just kind of taking up space. We don't know what the plan is. We don't know who's going to manage it," said Newport.
"I think it could invite garbage," he added.
A spokesperson for the city of Indianapolis said so far they haven't received any complaints about the boxes or requests for inspections, but said neighbor can report concerns or zoning violations to the Mayor's Action Center.
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