Man wearing Frosty the snowman mask causes fear in town

Four 911 callers had alarm in their voices. "He scared a little girl," one said. "There's somebody walking around with a mask," said another. A different person identified what triggered the calls. "Frosty the Snowman." With the remnants of an inflatable snowman over his head and a four-foot candy cane in his hand, "Frosty" was a one-man parade through downtown Vanceboro, North Carolina on Sunday night.

"I thought he was there to rob me," said Christina Squires, who was behind the counter of a tobacco shop when the man wearing a long carrot nose tapped on a store window. Then "he picked up the candy cane to show me it wasn't a weapon," Squires said.

While the sight caused considerable alarm for those interviewed, Vanceboro Police had not determined who was behind the mask. Chief William Turner said he had "more important" things to work on, adding that he was investigating separate cases, including a rape.

Jeffery Acker was behind the appearance. The spectacle was meant to be a merry one, according to the man behind the mask. "Christmas is everything to me. I love it," Acker said. "It was never an intention to be scary." Acker is not accused of doing anything illegal.