EVANSVILLE – We still don’t know who did it.
Well, someone does, but after two years, the name of the person or persons responsible for dumping a now-defunct camper on a sandbar in the Ohio River, causing a brief, citywide sensation, still hasn’t been made public.
The U.S. Corps of Engineers’ Louisville office said it identified a suspect shortly after the camper was found, but Katie Newton, director of public information for the Louisville office, recently told the Courier & Press that it had decided “not to pursue criminal prosecution in this particular case.”
“However, the Corps reserves the right to pursue criminal prosecution for future violations,” she said.
A repeat violation would likely be a violation of the Rivers and Harbors Act, which prohibits blocking riverbeds or dumping waste into the Ohio River.
The opportunity to do so probably won’t arise anytime soon. The Corps creates the sandbar by scouring the river for debris and sand. The resulting debris then floats to the surface and forms a makeshift beach. Newton said dredging is scheduled to begin this week. A beach may not result, however.
“The amount of dredging required is less than in most years, so we are not sure whether a sandbar will form in the normal location this year,” she said.
The P**n Saloon: Evansville camper becomes famous
There was plenty of that in 2022. And then the problems started.
In late July of that year, a dilapidated 1980s trailer magically appeared on the sand. Crowds of boaters came across the river to party beside it. Out-of-towners took photos from the banks. City Councilwoman and real estate agent Missy Mosby even posed in front of it with a red “Pending” sign and joked that she had found an interested buyer.
Eventually, an unknown folk hero gave it a memorable name: “P**n Saloon.” A cardboard sign hung above the door.
On July 29, however, rising water levels threatened to swallow the lake entirely. Television news channels and social media sites set up live video broadcasts that attracted thousands of people eager to witness the lake’s gradual demise.
Uniontown Water Rescue and the Henderson City-County Rescue Squad recovered the RV and towed it to shore on July 30, but the water damage was too great and it broke into several pieces.
The city has clung to the memory ever since, with its own website and online shops full of T-shirts. But the city’s biggest notoriety came in August, when long-running satirical tabloid The Weekly World News placed the camper next to a Photoshopped image of comedian and former Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson.
“Pete Davidson was spotted leaving a questionable establishment in Utah’s western desert,” read the headline.
No joke for the Army Corps of Engineers
However, the Corps of Engineers viewed the entire incident as a potential hazard. And when it came time to dredge the river in 2023 and potentially create another sandbar, they issued a stern warning.
“The USACE may dispose of the dredged material below the water’s surface, preventing the creation of a sandbar, if necessary to protect the environment and mitigate public safety risks,” a press release said. “A previous incident in 2022 in which a recreational vehicle was abandoned on the sandbar is a vivid example of the type of violations that can result in the loss of the recreational facility.”
Who parked the camper there?
Evansville police, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office and the Indiana State Police told the Courier & Press on Thursday they were not involved in the saga. And the Corps of Engineers has never released the name or names of the person it believes is responsible.
So if no one chooses to tell the truth, the public may never know who caused all the commotion – and the great Evansville mystery will continue.
