At the Eastway rec center, people dive into murder mysteries — and the pool
There’s been a “crime” at the Eastway Regional Recreation Center. Inside the steaming natatorium under the glimmering water of the lap pool, lies clues to the mysterious act. A list of suspects will emerge. A tangled timeline surfaces. What happened? Whodunit?
Can you follow the winding path of riddles in an hour’s time to discover the answers?
That’s the big question the team at Eastway wants participants to solve in their Aquatic Mystery Solvers program.
It’s a new monthly event where participants work together to search for clues on land and sea, or the pool and surrounding deck, to solve a murder mystery. It’s a program for all ages, so staff refers to the event as mystery solvers.
Think of it as an interactive Clue game. Or an escape room in the pool.
The program was hatched by Jack Hindle, an aquatic specialist at Eastway. It was a way for Hindle to mix two of his favorite things.
“I majored in English and I love writing, specifically creative writing,” Hindle said. “And I grew up in Florida, so I would go surfing and kayaking. My first job was a kayaking paddleboard instructor. I also love lifeguarding… So I was trying to think of a way that I could marry creative writing and aquatics.”
Couple that with Hindle’s appreciation for movies and shows such as the investigative animated series “Gravity Falls,” and you get aquatic mystery solvers.
Community programming at park and rec
Melding different hobbies and ideas is what drives programming in the aquatics department and throughout the rec center’s activities, said Michael Johnson, senior aquatics supervisor for Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation.
“We try to cultivate something that is for everyone of all ages,” Johnson said. “We have a lot of creative minds here… They sit down, brainstorm, they come up with these great ideas and we see them through. If people love them, then we make it bigger. And if they don’t love them, we find something else and make that as big.”
Having people from all sides of life, Johnson said, helps the rec centers reach people with similar interests or inspires someone to try something new.
That ideology is at the core of creating a community hub, which Eastway was meant to be for that area in Charlotte.
Opened in 2021, Eastway is nestled between the Hidden Valley, Sugar Creek, Shannon Park and Eastway neighborhoods.
It serves the large senior population in Hidden Valley and along the West Sugar Creek corridor.
There’s senior aquatics and line dancing classes. There’s adult flag football and basketball leagues too.
Eastway also increases recreational access for a large youth population, especially its aquatic programs.
“There’s not a lot of swimming opportunities. Neighborhoods in this area don’t have pools like they do in some of the other communities,” said Jessica Martin, Eastway’s aquatics supervisor. “I think we’re offering new and exciting things around aquatics swim lessons and water safety.”
There’s swimming lessons for all ages, as well as kayaking classes.
Specialized events at Eastway include aquatic mystery solvers and a monthly race through an inflatable water obstacle course. There’s also holiday activities like the facility’s October pumpkin picking special at the pool, which was filled with more than 120 bobbing pumpkins.
But the access also goes beyond the pool with Eastway’s tech lab or nature center, where participants can learn about local flora and go on guided nature walks.
“It really is about trying to figure out what we can do to bring people into our community centers,” Johnson said.
That includes solving mysteries at the pool.
Who killed Frank Elshing?
In early December, some swimming sleuths assembled.
The team was tasked with investigating the mysterious death of Frank Elshing. Since mystery solvers is still a new event, the group was made up of the county’s Recruiting, Training and Auditing team.
Hindle handled the debrief, passing around a makeshift police report.
“It was 9:01 p.m. when it happened,” the sheet reads. Elshing was finishing swimming laps when the lights went out. When the room was illuminated again, Elshing was dead.
“Nobody knows what happened to Frank. There are whispers, rumors, but that’s all they are. Frank was a good man. He worked in the community, had three kids and never let his smile fade despite so many family tragedies.”
From there, the sleuths searched the room, finding laminated clues sunk into the deep end of the water, buried under diving blocks and behind Rescue Randy, the resident mannequin.
They found witness statements that doubled as suspect sheets, an obituary and a cipher key to decode Elshing’s last message.
Now, it was time to put it all together. Some witnesses reported seeing red eyes, and last names were deciphered into key words like cross and garlic.
Hindle said if groups need assistance finding clues or working out the clues, he’ll be around to step in. Especially if some references don’t strike a chord.
One deciphered clue read, “To those who linger past the grave, beware the Helsing name.” Hindle stood patiently waiting for the “aha” moment from the team, but the group of 19- through 25-year-olds gave a resounding “WHO?”
Dear readers, Frank Elshing is a reference to the famed (maybe not?) vampire killer Van Helsing.
“Are we old enough to know that for real,” Angelica Cabrera asked.
Pop culture reference aside, the group collectively agreed that Mr. Elshing’s killer was indeed Hank, a vampire with a bone to pick.
What’s next for the Eastway rec center?
Not all mystery solver programs will have a supernatural element but for now, that’s been Hindle’s vibe. Once participation picks up, Hindle said he’d be able to gauge what’s working and what’s not.
So far, the group aspect has been a plus.
“It was a team bonding experience,” said Angel Cabrera Paulino.
“It was definitely a team bonding experience,” said Sabrina Husketh. “We’ve never gotten to do something like this as a team, so it was interesting to see how we all came together.”
The program doesn’t require a team to sign up, Hindle said, and having a group of strangers work together will be an interesting dynamic.
“It’s a brain game for sure,” said Cabrera Paulino. “I would do it again.”
The next event will be on Jan. 11 from 1 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.
But overall, it’s about experiencing something different.
“Find your local aquatic center, your local rec center, come in and get information,” Johnson added. “Find out what we can do for you and your family.”
If you go
Where: Eastway Regional Recreation Center at 3150 Eastway Park Dr., Charlotte, NC 28213
Cost: Membership costs vary. Eastway also offers scholarships.
This story was originally published December 24, 2024 at 6:00 AM.
