Has all this bitter wintry weather left you a bit … well, bitter? Need a good chuckle to warm your spirits?

Last Wednesday, the Harlan Police Department issued an “all points” bulletin:

“HPD has issued an arrest warrant for Queen Elsa of Arendelle. Suspect is a blonde female last seen wearing a long blue dress and is known to burst into song ‘Let it Go!’ As you can see by the weather she is very dangerous. Do not attempt to apprehend her alone.”

For those of you without young children in your home, Queen Elsa is the princess in the recent Disney movie “Frozen.” With snow accumulations of a foot or more in some places across the state, temperatures plunging into artic zone ranges, and another icy blast barreling down, Harlan police—and most other Kentuckians—were fairly certain the snow queen was on the loose and had cast a “mad spell.”

The gauge in my car read -4 on the way into work Friday morning, but that was balmy compared to record lows reported by our friends in the far east (Kentucky, that is). According to the Lexington Herald Leader, temperatures ranged from minus 32 degrees near Richmond in Madison County, minus 26 in Harrison County, and minus 23 degrees in Nicholas County to minus 17 in Franklin County and minus 11 degrees in Fayette County. Wind chills were even more bone-chilling—all the way to the Tennessee border.

Still, Harlan police didn’t expect the quick response to their attempt to bring a little levity to the brutal cold. Within five hours of their fake bulletin on Facebook, the villain was apprehended just across the state line, according to a news reporter for the Claiborne (Tenn.) Progress, a sister publication of the Harlan Daily Enterprise, which reported her alleged capture.

If the Claiborne police did, in fact, catch Queen Elsa, here’s hoping she won’t make bail! If she is expedited, it is highly doubtful she will find an eastern Kentucky lawyer who will defend her at this point—much less, find a jury that will acquit her.

Harlan police since have issued the following statement: “Wow. We were just having a little fun and didn’t expect this! It has been fun and we had to have a little fun after this week’s weather. But as a reminder, do take the precautions you need to keep you, your friends, family, neighbors and pets safe during the snow queen’s mad spell.”

Early Friday morning, the power went out for about an hour in our neighborhood. For some strange reason, every smoke alarm (and I think there must be six or seven) in our house started screeching. No one is sleeping in! After we determined that there was no fire, we became more “alarmed” as our house grew colder and colder by the minute. And, we became alerted to a very real crisis that others around us might be facing.

All joking aside, the brutal cold can be life-threatening in a matter of minutes. Just stepping outside should be a rude reminder to look-in on elderly family, friends, neighbors and fellow church members who may be without heat, food or medicine. They may need steps or driveways cleared so they can move safely. Fallen branches may need to be removed. No one wants to venture out long, and we’re all tempted to just huddle around the fire, but frigid nights with potential power outages also may become a call to ministry.

Stay warm!