Shutterstock
Finding a mostly naked woman claiming to be a mermaid with no other memories is certainly not your typical case for the police.
But that’s exactly what the Fresno police department was faced with when a mostly naked woman was found wandering the streets this week.
Reports the Fresno Bee…
The woman was walking in the middle of the street near the intersection of Millerton Road and Brighton Crest Drive, a half-mile southeast of Table Mountain Casino, around 3:15 a.m. Police added she was wearing only a black sports bra and had wet hair when they found her. She claimed to have been in the water.
The woman said her name was Joanna but mainly answered “I don’t know” to questions from police, and told them she thought she was a mermaid.
Officials say she could be between 16 and 30 years old and either white and or Hispanic. She has brown hair and eyes, is 5-foot-4, weighs 150 pounds and has webbed toes on both feet.
Hmmm, she claims to be a mermaid and has webbed toes? Could she possibly be…? Nah…
“She was wet, she said she had been in the lake, said she needed help and needed to be taken to the hospital,” said Fresno Police Lt. Mark Hudson. “We did go through records after fingerprinting her and we still did not come up with her identity.”
Karon Renwick, a resident near where the woman was found told YourCentralValley.com, “There are some strange things that happen up here. We’re in the mountains.”
Fresno Police Department
Quite the mystery indeed.
Thankfully for all involved it has now been solved and it turns out that the “mermaid” is a 33-year-old from Virginia. She was a very long way from home. Maybe she swam there?
The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office did not release her name Thursday, adding she may have been the victim of a crime.
The woman flew to Fresno last week so she could check out the area in case she wanted to move here.
Arrangements are being made to reunite her with friends and family, the sheriff’s office said.
Twitter reactions to this story were, as usual, priceless…
How am I supposed to get any work done when they just found a mermaid in Fresno? I'm actually more surprised about the Fresno part.
— Freematik (@freematik) April 5, 2017
I literally cannot get away. A customer in the lobby turns around to me and says, "they found a mermaid, in Fresno CA"
— Cassie (@cassielikescows) April 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/ryansatin/status/850020358589566976
Pepsi Commercial was so yesterday tho. In other news, they just found a "mermaid" in fresno california 😂
— Thank You Lonnie. (@cadillac_pac) April 6, 2017
I kinda want to meet the mermaid lady in Fresno. She sounds like the fun kinda weird, not the scary kind.
— ⛳🏠 can spell his name with emoji. 🇺🇦 (@Golfhaus) April 6, 2017
Did anyone else read the news about the Fresno 'mermaid ' and think 'hmm – that would make a really good opening to a story'? #amwriting
— Cate Tyrrell (@catetyrrell) April 6, 2017
Joanna's tale of being a mermaid in Fresno seems a liitle fishy. Police need to dive deeper by putting a tail on her.
— Foolfixer (@Foolfixer) April 6, 2017
@jarpad @JensenAckles @mishacollins You boys heading to Fresno to check out this Mermaid situation? Smells kinda fishy, if you ask me.
— Sandra Coulter (@sanofmanyhats) April 7, 2017
A mermaid in Fresno, and Tarzan in India…. The possibilities of me marrying a prince is very likely at this point!… #DisneyIsForreal
— Lissetty89 (@LissettReynaga) April 6, 2017
https://twitter.com/isabellajuliaa/status/850117335545290752
Never change, internet.