After the mysterious appearance of two high-flying white flags fluttering atop the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City raised speculations Tuesday morning, investigators have discovered DNA at the scene that could be a possible lead to the guilty suspects, a police source said Thursday. It wasn't certain, however, if the DNA was discovered on one of the flagpoles atop the bridge's two towers, or on the tin pans used to block out the lights below.
In a bizarre incident, two originally-placed American flags were pulled out and substituted with white banners, which typically signal surrender, Tuesday morning from atop the 273-foot towers on the venerable bridge, New York Daily News reported. So far, there has been no explanation or confirmed motive behind the mystery.
Apart from gaining DNA evidence, police will be hoping that the perpetrators behind the crime are part of the NYPD system. Otherwise, the new clue won't immediately bring them any closer to solving the mystery.
On Wednesday, police were searching for a skateboard-toting youth and four pals after a blurry surveillance video showed them to be crossing the Brooklyn Bridge just 20 minutes before its flags were stolen. Described to be white and in their late teens or early 20s, the suspects are wanted only for questioning since police have been unable to find any real leads so far.
"Police had been tracing two nicknames for possible suspects from an Instagram posting that seemed linked to the event. But both leads turned out to be dead ends, two police sources said," according to NYDN. "Investigators could find names through cell phones if those involved made calls while near the Brooklyn Bridge in the wee hours Tuesday. Cops are analyzing data from the two nearest cell phone towers."
Meanwhile, detectives have also been working the bridge, questioning pedestrians in hopes of finding people who regularly use the crossing at that hour.
