Where Are Portland's Scooters? Check the River

Police pull nearly 60 from Willamette River
By Newser Editors,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 29, 2019 2:40 PM CDT
Portland Cops Pull Dozens of E-Scooters From River
These were 'parked' in a river.   (Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)

For anyone in Portland struggling to find an e-scooter to ride, the police have an explanation: Someone is dumping them in the Willamette River. The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office pulled 57 from the water, apparently tossed there from a downtown sea wall, reports the Oregonian. The dumper is spreading the hate around, with scooters from Lime, Bird, and Razor all raised from the depths. Police have no suspects, but Sgt. Brandon White offered some tongue-in-cheek counsel to those chucking them: "We advise those people not to park scooters in the river."

As Gizmodo notes, the popularity of the scooters has rankled critics, and not just in Portland. Among other things, people complain about careless, unsafe riders and about scooters being left in all the wrong places. In fact, one Instagram blog is devoted solely to cataloging "scooter chaos in Portland," though the site takes pains to say that "we do not condone or encourage damage to scooters!" (Hackers have had some fun with the scooters, too.)

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