He took ‘a large quantity of Molly’ and messed with the wrong swans, police say

A man stranded himself on a fountain in the middle of a lake early Friday morning after taking too much MDMA, commonly referred to as “Molly,” and hijacking a swan-shaped paddle boat.

There is very much a “swan” theme to Lake Eola in Orlando, Florida, as a particularly aggressive bunch of the birds inhabit the lake.

They’ve been known both to attack, and sometimes, to be on the receiving end of attacks. But Keith Thurston, 36, told police after taking the drugs that he wanted to take his joy ride into the birds’ domain because “they don’t judge him,” according to WFTV.

“Before he was transported (to the hospital) he explained he ingested a large quantity of Molly (MDMA),” police told the Orlando Sentinel.

A 2012 video showed some of the swans on Lake Eola attacking a woman during their mating season, WKMG reported. In May, one chased an Orlando police officer, though the officer escaped unscathed from that incident.

Thurston told police that he took the paddle boat to the Lake Eola fountain, then got off. In his haze, he failed to tie up his ride back, and started to yell for help as it floated away, according to the Sentinel.

Orlando firefighters rescued Thurston from the fountain at about 4 a.m. Friday before he was arrested. Orlando Weekly reported Monday that police asked Thurston whether he was trying to harm himself with the stunt and are following up with the boat rental company to see if charges will be filed against him.

This story was originally published December 19, 2017 at 11:47 AM with the headline "He took ‘a large quantity of Molly’ and messed with the wrong swans, police say."