Knife found Monday by a student in Beaufort Elementary School bathroom, police say

A four-inch kitchen knife was found Monday by a student in a girl’s bathroom at Beaufort Elementary School, according to a report from the Beaufort Police Department.

The knife was reported to the school resource officer around 7:40 a.m. after a student discovered it protruding from behind the toilet of a girl’s bathroom, the report said. The knife, described by police in the report as a “Miracle Blade III,” had a black handle.

The student took the knife to her teacher. The school’s assistant principal, Wendy Oels, reported it to police, who took the knife into evidence. The student told police she did not see anyone come into or exit the bathroom while she was there, the report said. The officer took no further action, the report said.

The incident is no longer under investigation, according to Beaufort Police spokesperson Capt. George Erdel, because there is “no way to tell when it got there and who it came from.”

This is the first time a weapon found on Beaufort Elementary School’s campus has not been linked to someone, Erdel said, but marks at least the second time a weapon has been found at the school, and at least the fifth time a weapon has been brought to a Beaufort County School District campus this semester.

In September, a student brought a handgun and ammunition to Beaufort Elementary in his backpack. School officials were notified that the weapon was on campus after the student’s mother called to report that the family’s gun was missing. The student told police he brought the gun for self defense, according to previous reporting by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette. That student, who was not identified because he is a minor, was petitioned to family court.