A masked man wearing only a thong, a cut-open mask, and a shower cap has been repeatedly targeting businesses near 81st Street and Harvard Avenue in South Tulsa, defecating into a dog waste bag and smearing the contents on walls and doors, according to police. Officers have responded to the area on multiple occasions, but the suspect has not been caught, and investigators are now asking the public for help identifying him.
According to KOKH, Tulsa Police Department officers responded to an ongoing situation involving a nearly naked man, and a business owner near 81st and Harvard reported that the man had been defecating into a dog waste bag and smearing it on the walls and doors of the business. The business owner eventually installed security cameras, which captured images of the suspect, though the cameras alone have not been enough to deter him or lead to his capture.
Officers assigned the investigation case reference number 2026-038363 after responding to a call at roughly 4:22 a.m. on Wednesday, per official Tulsa Police Department case records cited by Weather and News Around The 4 States. Surveillance footage recorded near the intersection reportedly captured the suspect exposing himself directly to a security camera before defecating into a dog waste bag, the outlet reported, laying out in stark detail the sequence of events that prompted both exposure and vandalism investigations.
A Busy Retail Corridor on Edge
The intersection at 81st Street and Harvard Avenue sits at the heart of a busy South Tulsa retail corridor that includes the Walnut Creek Shopping Center and the Painted Tree Boutiques shopping complex, according to property data from Wiggin Properties. The area falls under the patrol jurisdiction of the Tulsa Police Department's Riverside Division, headquartered on Riverside Parkway. Tulsa Police have not named the specific business or businesses affected, citing commercial privacy, and the suspect remains unidentified and uncharged.
Anyone with information is asked to call Tulsa Crimestoppers at (918) 596-COPS. The nonprofit, which operates under the Crime Prevention Network Inc., offers cash rewards of up to $1,500 for anonymous tips that lead to felony arrests, whether submitted through the tip line or the Tulsa Tips mobile app.
What Charges Could Follow
How prosecutors ultimately classify the case remains an open question. If investigators determine the suspect exposed himself in a lewd or sexual manner toward cameras or bystanders, Oklahoma law under 21 O.S. § 1021 permits felony indecent exposure charges, carrying 30 days to 10 years in state prison, fines up to $20,000, and mandatory 15-year registration on the state's sex offender registry, according to the Law Firm of Oklahoma.
If, instead, the conduct is treated strictly as a non-sexual public bodily function, it could be prosecuted as a misdemeanor under 21 O.S. § 22 for outraging public decency, punishable by up to a year in county jail without sex offender registration, per Coventon Criminal Defense. Property damage charges hinge on a similar dollar-figure threshold: under 21 O.S. § 1760, malicious injury to property causing less than $1,000 in damage is a misdemeanor, while damage of $1,000 or more elevates the charge to a felony, according to the Henson Law Firm, PLLC.
Not the First 'Serial Defecator' Case
Tulsa's case echoes a similarly bizarre investigation from earlier this year in Stoughton, Wisconsin, where police deployed aerial drones and trail cameras to identify and cite a 46-year-old woman dubbed a “serial defecator” after repeated incidents in a public municipal park, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. That case suggests South Tulsa investigators may eventually need to expand beyond static security cameras if the suspect continues evading capture.
It's not the first time Tulsa police have leaned on the public to help identify a suspect targeting local commercial properties. Last November, officers arrested a teen tagger after he repeatedly spray-painted buildings across the city, a case that ended with a highway chase. For now, the South Tulsa case remains unsolved, and police are relying on tips from residents and business owners in the area to move the investigation forward.
