Police in California have issued a warning to the public to “not approach” a man who is skulking around a beachfront area dressed as Cookie Monster.
After reportedly intimidating parents to have their kids pose for photos with him and pay him for the “service,” the person attracted attention in Santa Cruz.
Additionally, he is alleged to have taunted onlookers while pacing the promenade along the shore.
According to a local employee named Mark who was questioned by broadcaster KSBW, the man started appearing last month on the same day Sesame Street creator Lloyd Morrissett passed away.
The ‘creepy’ individual was described as a ‘national nuisance’
Mark said: ‘He was sad about that. He kept showing up and people started complaining about him.’
Michelle Roberts, a visitor to the pier, added: ‘At first glance, it just seemed like maybe it would be fun to do a selfie with him but we were away from him and then we went to the back of the wharf by the deadlines, and that’s when we saw him coming out making a commotion and getting in people’s faces.’
Joyce Blaschke of Santa Cruz Police Department said: ‘We are getting calls from people who say he is creepy.’
To make matters more mysterious, the man behind the mask may have previously had a stint terrorising people in New York and San Francisco in the 2010s while dressed in an Elmo costume.
Local police say his name is Adam Sandler, 59, of no relation to the Hollywood film star.
He was dubbed ‘Evil Elmo’ and arrested after shouting anti-Semitic rants and yelling at tourists who didn’t tip when they took a photo with him.
He was named as Dan Sandler, also known as Adam Sandler, in proceedings which led to him being sentenced to two days’ community service for disorderly conduct and resisting arrest in 2012, the New York Post reports.
LA police detective Jeana Franco said in 2016: ‘This guy is like a national nuisance.’