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Portland, Ore., couple who decided to mark Valentine's Day with some role-playing in their
Subaru Legacy now face charges from Portland authorities who thought a naked woman bound in a wagon was actually being abducted. This being Portland, some local residents question what right Portland police have to take away Cupid's duct tape.
According to the Portland police, a witness called 911 on Tuesday after seeing the Subaru Legacy wagon leaving a New Seasons grocery store parking lot with a naked woman bound and gagged in the rear. The witness told police the driver claimed they "were just having some fun," and the woman seemed "hazy." (Note that unlike SUVs, Subaru Legacy wagons don't come from the factory with tinted rear windows).
After flooding the area with police and swarming the address the Legacy was registered to, police finally found the driver, who was walking away from the Subie with the woman still bound in the back. Both detainer and detainee confirmed to police that they were role-playing for Valentine's Day, and that the woman was rolling in the Legacy of her own free will.
That didn't spare the couple -- Nikolas Harbar, 31, and Stephanie Pelzner, 26 -- from charges of second-degree disorderly conduct, with the Portland officials noting the 20-minute affair tied up nine police cruisers. But Portland is also the town that hosts the annual World Naked Bike Ride, and several commenters
on its Facebook page question why the police pursued charges once they learned the couple was acting. Maybe next time, choose a game that doesn't invoke kidnapping fears from the general populace -- and stock up on groceries before you start.