Ellijay police search for escaped, mischievous elf

ELLIJAY, Ga. - Is it an Elf on the Shelf or a menace to society? The Ellijay Police Department has an on-going elf problem and needs the public's help.

The department has been posting about Stitches the elf who has been pulling pranks in the area. The latest one was on Friday. Ellijay police said they caught him on surveillance video actually vandalizing the sign in front of City Hall. The mischievous elf changed it from “Ellijay” to “Elfijay”.

The prank was said to be retaliation of an officer intervening in his previous night’s attack on a Christmas tree.

Police said Stitches escaped from the North Police Detention Center on Thanksgiving and stole a reindeer to getaway. He has been spotted a couple of times in Ellijay since then.

Stitches is described by police as being 14 inches tall and weighing about 2 ounces. He was last seen wearing a red jumpsuit and a red hat.

Police are asking for the community to keep an eye out for Stitches, especially children who may be closer to the ground and can see better.

Any family who thinks they have seen Stitches is asked to post a picture to the Ellijay Police Department’s Facebook page for confirmation. The department is also issuing nightly updates through that same page, so police urge families to like the page for updates.