Who is Portland’s Valentine’s Day Bandit?

It could be Maine's best kept secret.

The Portland Press Herald reports that the tradition of hearts left around the city of Portland dates back to 70's. It's also one of Portland's long standing mysteries.

Who is it?

On Valentine's Day the city will be decorated with paper hearts everywhere! Windows, storefronts, doors, banners, flags...he/she/they have gotten very creative!

Remember how the ending of the movie The Sixth Sense was kept a secret? It appears that if people do know, they aren't giving it up.

The Press Herald interviewed several people for a story about the Valentine's Day bandit - and has come up empty handed. Whoever it is, they are pretty resourceful, because banners have appeared on Fort Gorges, the Observatory, the snow pile on Commercial Street and the Casco Bay Bridge.

They found that by digging for the identity, they ran into a lot of opposition. Why would you want to ruin the secret?

Maybe the city of Portland knows? There are a lot of theories. Police Lt. Nicholas Goodman joked it's the firefighters.

I’ve always suspected the firemen, because they’re not as hardworking as the police. We answer more calls for service, so we don’t have time to do it, but we think it’s a good idea.

 

So, the mystery continues. This is just one of the gazillion reasons Portland is such a great little city. Look for the hearts in just a few days.