‘I watch crime shows’: Girl, 10, writes a letter to police urging them to run DNA tests on a half-eaten Oreo cookie and leftover carrot to see if Santa Claus and his reindeer are real
- Scarlett Doumato, from Rhode Island, sent a letter to Cumberland Police
- She asked officers to run DNA tests on the samples to see if Santa Claus is real
- The police department made it clear that it was taking the matter very seriously
A 10-year-old girl has asked police to test for Santa Claus’s DNA from a partially-eaten cookie and leftover bites of carrot to see if he is real – and they agreed.
Scarlett Doumato, from Rhode Island, sent a package to the Cumberland Police Department containing the leftovers along with a handwritten letter asking them to open an investigation.
The young girl, identified by NBC affiliate WJAR, wrote: ‘Dear Cumberland Police Dapartment (sic), I took a sample of a cookie and carrots that I left for Santa and the raindeer (sic) on Christmas Eve and was wondering if you could take a sample of DNA and see if Santa is real?’
And the Cumberland Police Department made it clear that they were taking the matter very seriously.
Scarlett Doumato (pictured), from Rhode Island, sent a package to the Cumberland Police Department along with a handwritten letter
In her letter, the 10-year-old asked them to test ‘a sample of a cookie and carrots that I left out for Santa and the raindeer (sic)’
Scarlett’s evidence (pictured) included partially-eaten Oreo cookie and leftover bites of baby carrot
In a press statement, issued on January 20, the department confirmed that it had forwarded Scarlett’s evidence to the State of Rhode Island’s Department of Health- Forensic Sciences Unit for analysis.
It also included a scan of the evidence receipt which listed the articles as one plastic bag with two pieces of baby carrots and one plastic bag with a ‘partially-eaten’ Oreo cookie.
The official document called for the items to be ‘examined for bite marks compared with any dental records on file’ for Santa and his aliases including Kris Kringle, Saint Nicholas and Saint Nick.
It also called for similar tests for ‘reindeer owned by the suspect’ that might have been with him that evening including Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donner, Blitzen, or Rudolph.
It also included a scan of the evidence receipt (pictured), which listed the articles that had been sent to the Forensic Sciences Unit for analysis
Police said officers had ‘already uncovered evidence in support of Santa Claus’ presence in her neighborhood before attaching a CCTV image of a ‘reindeer’ on a lawn (pictured)
Speaking to WJAR, Scarlett’s mother Alyson Doumato (pictured) said her daughter was ‘always a little bit skeptical, and looking for the facts’
Chief Matthew J. Benson also issued a statement that read: ‘This young lady obviously has a keen sense for truth and the investigative process and did a tremendous job packaging her evidence for submission.
‘We will do our very best to provide answers for her.’
Speaking to WJAR, Scarlett’s mother Alyson Doumato said her daughter was ‘always a little bit skeptical, and looking for the facts.’
The young investigator added: ‘I watch crime shows, and I thought it was cool to be a detective.’
Police say that they are still awaiting test results, but that the department had already reached out to Scarlett who they earmarked as a ‘future-CPD Detective.’
They added that officers had ‘already uncovered evidence in support of Santa Claus’s presence in her neighborhood the night of December 24th’ before attaching a CCTV image of a ‘reindeer’ on a lawn.
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Read more at DailyMail.co.uk