Mysterious pool of blood, pair of glasses found in Pennsylvania town; police investigating

• A four foot by seven foot pool of blood and a pair of glasses were found near a retirement community parking lot in Pennsylvania.
• Police are investigating to find out what happened.
• So far, they've neither confirmed or denied that a crime occurred.

Police and community members in a Pennsylvania county are seeking answers after a large pool of blood and a pair of glasses were found in a parking lot near a retirement center.

Police found four foot by seven foot pool of blood that could be "evidence of a traumatic injury," said Silver Spring Township Police Department Chief of Police Christopher Raubenstine during a press conference about the discovery. 

He also said there was a smaller, nearby grassy area where a secondary pool of blood was found. Glasses were also found near the scene and they were taken in and are being tested by a crime lab.

The blood was found near the Silver Spring Courtyards retirement community around 7:15 a.m. on Aug. 27 in Cumberland County, Silver Spring Township Police said in a news release on Facebook.

The department contacted the Cumberland County District Attorney's Forensic Unit, which tested the blood and said it belongs to a human, he said.

"There was no body found, and there were no other signs other than the pair of glasses that you've been provided a copy of a little bit further away in the same parking lot," he said to onlookers at the conference.

Officials think whatever incident caused the injury happened between 11:00 p.m. on Aug. 26 and 7 a.m. Aug. 27. As part of their investigation, authorities have checked with nearby senior care facilities and neighbors for anyone missing or unaccounted for.

"We're not missing anybody there," Raubenstine said. "We've also gone down the street. It's a residential neighborhood. We're not finding anybody there that saw or heard anything at this time, nor is anybody missing."

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So what did happen?

Raubenstine, the police chief, stressed that officials aren't sure if a crime has occurred just yet. Someone could've fallen off a truck, been hit by a vehicle or hit by an object. Or maybe there was a fight, he said.

"We don't know that yet, and that's why we're reaching out for some assistance to the public," he said.

He said the blood was also found near the Cumberland Valley School District main campus, and noted that there was a football game there. Both school districts involved and their police departments have been notified, he said.

"There were no issues," he said. "They had a severe storm halfway through that caused a slight delay in the game, but then it finished up and and nobody had any issues."

Aerial searches have also been done and bloodhounds were also brought to the area, but there have been no leads.

"Because this is, clearly, at least at the minimum, a very serious injury involved, somebody somewhere is the victim of that," he said. "Not necessarily of a crime, but of that injury. We're just trying to identify them to make sure they're okay."

He said officers have increased patrol and have been in the area every day since Saturday, Aug. 27.  

Raubenstine said police hope someone reaches out. No tip is "too dumb" or "weird," and even things people didn't see can help.

"Even if it's somebody that was in that area at a particular time and saw nothing, that will help us to narrow down this eight-hour timeframe," he said. "An eight-hour timeframe is a large timeframe to be working with. If that can help us narrow down the timeframe, it might get us a little bit further in this investigation."

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia – the 757 – and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas, and food. Follow her on Twitter at @Saleen_Martin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.