14 Blades Are Found Buried in O.C. Park After Boy’s Foot Is Cut

Fourteen blades commonly used in X-Acto knives were found buried in the sand of a private Newport Beach playground, prompting increased patrols and inspections at all 27 city-owned parks, officials said Monday.

The blades turned up after a 5-year-old cut his foot Saturday while playing in the park in a gated community. The child was not seriously injured.

The discovery awakened memories of a series of similar discoveries in south Orange County when razor blades, nails and glass shards were found near slides and other playground equipment in 2002. A Mission Viejo woman is in prison in connection with those incidents.

The private park in Bonita Canyon was closed Monday as officers and park rangers sifted through the sand.

“We’re looking into whether this is done intentionally or accidentally,” said Sgt. Bill Hartford, spokesman for Newport Beach police.

The search began Saturday after a woman took the boy to the park about 10 a.m. and he stepped on a blade buried in the sand between two rocking horses, police said. The woman told police she searched the sand and found three more blades before calling authorities.

An inspection by police, park rangers and residents armed with metal detectors Saturday and Sunday netted nine additional blades. On Monday, work crews found a 14th blade while digging deeper into the sand and using a sifter.

The objects were identified as X-Acto blades, about 1 1/2 inches long with a single sharpened edge. The blades fit into X-Acto knives, which are commonly used for crafts.

Inspections at the city-owned parks in Newport Beach came up empty, Hartford said.

Jane Durazo said she takes her 7-year-old daughter and 11-year-old son to the park weekly.

“We’re very upset,” Durazo said. “It’s very safe here, but I am not comfortable letting them play in the sand for a long time.”

Parents expressed similar concerns in 2002 when razorblades, glass shards and nails were found in the sand at parks in Foothill Ranch, Laguna Beach, Laguna Niguel and Mission Viejo.

Lori Fischer, 25, was charged with planting the objects and pleaded guilty in 2003 to attempted child abuse and assault with a deadly weapon. She was originally given probation but was sent to prison for five years in January after she was pulled over by a deputy who found boxes of nails in the backseat of her car. Authorities concluded she was planning another attack.