The mystery of the 500 pounds of pasta that suddenly appears along a creek in New Jersey last month has seemingly been solved, with the person behind the carb bonanza escaping charges.
Police have ended their investigation and closed the case, according to the township’s business administrator.
The pasta became something of an internet sensation last month, when residents of Old Bridge woke up to find 500 pounds of pasta, from spaghetti to macaroni, along the banks of the creek. Photos quickly began to spread online—and police were asked to investigate illegal dumping charges tied to the roughly 15 wheelbarrows full of pasta.
I finally saw this particular photo from The Great New Jersey Pasta Dump Mystery earlier this month & I’m sort of sad that this didn’t turn out to be a new artist doing a Christo pic.twitter.com/e5mPX5qXm7
— 𝕤𝕒𝕣𝕒𝕙 𝕖𝕝𝕠𝕟𝕘𝕒𝕥𝕖𝕕 𝕜𝕚𝕥𝕖🪁 (@sarahekite) May 23, 2023
The mystery was solved when video recorded by a Ring camera allegedly showed a man cleaning out a massive amount of pasta from the home of his mother, who had recently passed away. Old Bridge authorities declined to identify the man, but he was reportedly looking for a way to get rid of the dried pasta. (Community advocates say he has a history of mental illness.)
He opted to dispose of it in the woods, but rain, as well as humidity from the air and nearby creek, seemingly caused the dried pasta to soften and expand.
The town’s public works department cleaned up the pasta in under an hour long ago.