During the last great freeze in Middleburg Police Lieutenant Mike Prince swung by the lake behind the cemetery, south Middleburg Baptist Church, on Federal Street.

On top of the ice covering the lake, in some places eight inches thick, lay a dark object.

A closer look revealed it was an overturned wheel chair.

Next to it, a dark indentation in the ice.

Fearing the worst Middleburg called in the Sheriff's Department.

Fully equipped for cold water search and rescue, the Loudoun County team ventured out on the ice.

There was no evidence of anyone having fallen through: just the chair and the strange dent in the ice.

A serial number on the chair indicated that it had been sold to the Veterans' Administration.

To date, no one knows who was using it.

Speculation about the mystery chair is rampant.

A prank? An effort at deep-lake disposal via melting ice?

No one seems to know.

If you do, please contact the Middleburg Police Department... and the Eccentric.