Mysterious 7-foot pool of blood on pavement baffles investigators in Pennsylvania

Somebody lost a lot of blood in Silver Spring Township, Pennsylvania, but police don’t know who or how.

A large pool of blood, measuring 4 feet by 7 feet, was found Saturday, Aug. 27, in the parking lot of a retirement home, Silver Spring police Chief Chris Raubenstine said during a Sept. 1 media briefing streamed by WHP. But there was no body, no signs of a struggle or an accident — only blood and a pair of glasses on the pavement a short distance away.

A second, smaller pool of blood was also discovered in the grass close by.

“All we can say about that amount of blood … is a very serious injury (has) occurred,” Raubenstine said, but the nature of that injury is a mystery. Whatever happened, happened during an eight-hour window, between 11 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. Saturday.

“We are not saying at this time that any crime has occurred, to our knowledge,” Raubenstine said.

Silver Spring police launched an investigation quickly, calling in a forensic team, which confirmed the blood is human.

Bloodhounds were also brought in that morning, Raubenstine said, but they found nothing.

In the days since the blood appeared, officers have canvassed the neighborhood, going door to door and speaking with residents. Investigators have reached out to hospitals near the community, as well as many farther from it.

Nobody saw anything, according to Raubenstine.

A cadaver dog failed to uncover any clues, and a search by helicopter did no better.

Everyone is accounted for at the retirement home, Raubenstine said.

The high school football team played against a neighboring town on the Friday night the incident is believed to have occurred — but police and school officials from that town haven’t reported any missing persons or serious injuries.

The investigation has hit dead end after dead end.

Raubenstine says there is no evidence that a violent crime took place, but in the absence of answers, worry is growing among Silver Spring residents.

“I understand their concern. I’m concerned,” he said at the media briefing. “We all want to know what happened.”

Somebody somewhere knows something, Raubenstine said, and he’s asking them to step forward and share that info — however insignificant it may seem.

Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Silver Spring Township Police Department at 717-697-0607, or email Detective Cory Keen at Ckeen@sstwp.org.

This story was originally published September 1, 2022 at 5:37 PM with the headline "Mysterious 7-foot pool of blood on pavement baffles investigators in Pennsylvania."