Police Close in on Woman in Viral Video Licking Blue Bell Ice Cream Before Placing Container Back on Freezer Shelf

LUFKIN, TX — Lufkin Police believe they have identified the woman seen in a viral social media video licking a ½ gallon of Blue Bell “Tin Roof” flavored ice cream before closing the lid and placing the ice cream back on the shelf.

The incident happened at a Lufkin Walmart Supercenter on June 28 at around 11 p.m., Lufkin police said.

LPD released screen shots from the store’s surveillance video system. The photos show the woman who was purportedly the star actor in the video with a man with frizzy hair in ponytails entering and exiting the store together. Police mention the man as the one “behind the camera.” They want to talk to him, too.

City of Lufkin Director of Public Safety Gerald Williamson told TV station KETK-NBC in Longview and Tyler that the act is a Second Degree Felony in Texas. “It’s a very serious offense,” he said, as it damages consumer confidence. The woman can have federal charges filed against her as well. The Food and Drug Administration is involved in the investigation, KETK reported.

Blue Bell Creameries in Brenham released a statement describing how during packaging the container is flipped and frozen upside down to freeze ice cream on the inside lid. That way, consumers can determine easily if the packaging has been tampered with.

“The safety of our ice cream is our highest priority, and we work hard too maintain the highest level of confidence of our customers. Food tampering is not a joke, and we will not tolerate tampering with our products,” Blue Bell’s statement said.

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How did the investigation narrow down to the Lufkin Walmart?

According to Lufkin police, Tuesday morning, “Blue Bell corporate instructed all of its division managers to see if they could identify the store location. Within an hour of the corporate plea, a Lufkin division manager called, saying he believed it was Lufkin Walmart. He based this on the store’s unique merchandising which matched the video.”

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At 1:10 p.m. Blue Bell contacted Lufkin police, alerting them that they believed the viral video took place in the Lufkin Walmart. Blue Bell also said they had retrieved what they believed to be the tainted container of ice cream.

By 4 p.m., LPD detectives obtained surveillance video placing a woman matching the suspect’s description in the Lufkin store on June 28 around 11 p.m.

Now the search is on to find the man and woman seen in the video stills that LPD released.

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Lufkin is a city of 36,000 people located on U.S. 59 halfway between Houston and Shreveport, Louisiana.