Medina murder mystery event had people hunting for clues at 17 businesses

Photos by Ginny Kropf: (Left) Brody George, collections manager at Medina Railroad Museum, portrayed mayor E. Lou Sieve in the Medina Area Partnership’s murder mystery event Saturday, “When Push Came to Shove.” (Right) From left, Tami Siffsinger of Lyndonville and Carol Bellack and Robin Wehling of Medina dressed for the era during Medina Area Partnership’s murder mystery event on Saturday. Here, they prepare to enter Author’s Note, hoping to find a clue.

MEDINA – The past weekend was a busy one in Medina, with many stores offering specials, welcoming an influx of visitors and staging a murder mystery to solve.

Saturday was the Medina Area Partnership’s fun murder mystery event, “When Push Came to Shove.”

Seventeen businesses and 132 people participated in the event, which entailed visiting all participating businesses, talking to the character portrayed in that store and then deciding who killed Austin Franks, an owner of the Franks and Bettor Cold Storage after its grand opening.

Christine and Chris Blowers of Lockport participated in MAP’s annual murder mystery event on Saturday for the first time. They are checking their notebooks here at a lily & a sparrow.

The scene is set in 1904 and all the local people of importance attended the ribbon cutting, which was followed by tours of the cold storage and refreshments. Everyone (they thought) finally cleared out, except Austin Franks, who offered to do a final check of the building.

Later, when the night watchman did his rounds, he found Franks dead at the bottom of the elevator shaft.

Each participating business was given a script listing how the “actor or actress” knew each character involved and how they knew Austin. Each actor had three clues to give out.

The day began with check-in at the Medina Senior Center, where attendees received a wristband, investigator’s booklet, snack and a goodie bag. They had until 4 p.m. to visit all participating locations, then had to decide who the murderer was and e-mail their answer to Medina Area Partnership.

The correct answers were then entered in a drawing to win a gift basket filled with prizes worth more than $250. Winner was Andrea Walton of Medina.

Many participating individuals dressed in costumes of the early 1900s, including Tami Siffsinger of Lyndonville and Carol Bellack and Robin Wehling of Medina.

They were encountered on Main Street as they made their way into Author’s Note, “investigator’s” notebooks in hand.

“We know there’s a lot of hanky panky going on,” Wehling said.

“There’s illicit love, so it could be a woman who did it,” Bellack speculated. “Regardless, it’s a gorgeous day to be out, and we’re supporting the Medina Area Partnership.”

Siffsinger was happy about the gift bag they received, which included their investigator’s notebook and coupons for participating stores. They also had a wine tasting at Main Street Liquor and sampled sweets at Della’s Chocolates.

Chris and Christine Blowers of Lockport were at a lily & a sparrow, checking their notebooks and asking questions. This was their first time taking part in such an activity.

“We always liked to do adventures and this is something different,” Chris said. “We enjoy watching mystery shows on TV, but here we have real life clues.”

Brody George, collections manager at Medina Railroad Museum, played the role of Mayor E. Lou Sieve. He didn’t realize when he volunteered to be an actor, he would be the murderer.

When people came in looking for clues, he said he “loosely made stuff up.”

Overall, it was nice to see all the businesses who participated, he said.