Off The Beat: Deputies solve mystery of the groin

Will Greenlee | Treasure Coast Newspapers

ST. LUCIE COUNTY — It took X-rays, a CT scan and a doctor, but sheriff’s investigators apparently solved the mystery of the groin.

The case began Oct. 15 at the St. Lucie County jail as a 33-year-old Vero Beach woman was in the facility’s booking/intake area, an affidavit states.

Asked whether she had drugs or contraband, the woman said, “No.”

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Yet when the woman went through a “body scan,” or X-ray type procedure, investigators saw “a circular shape in her groin area.”

A strip search revealed “a white piece of matter in her groin area” that she refused to remove.

She was taken back to the “body scanner,” which again showed the “circular shape.”

So, officials decided to bring her to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute about five miles away.

A CT, or computed tomography, scan was conducted. Those show more detail than a standard X-ray, according to WebMD. They involve using an X-ray beam to circle a part of the body, providing a number of images from angles. A computer takes the information and creates a cross-sectional picture.

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In the case of the 33-year-old Vero Beach woman, the CT scan showed “foreign objects inside her body.”

Removed by a licensed physician, the objects included plastic bags and glass vials, which investigators said contained methamphetamine, heroin and MDMA, all of which are most definitely against the rules to possess.

The woman was arrested on charges including three counts of possession of a controlled substance without a prescription and single counts each of possession of drug paraphernalia, introduction of contraband into a detention facility and tampering with evidence.