How Better Call 4 solved the mystery of the buzzing box

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – It’s a mystery for this Halloween after a Columbus woman said a mystery metal box on a utility pole in her front yard disrupted her life, producing a strange, head-splitting sound for the last four years.

She contacted agency after agency, but the mysterious, nuisance noise continued until she called Better Call 4.

“I’ve already contacted, like, Spectrum and WOW, and everybody that’s come out has told me it’s not their box,” resident Tammy Freitas said. “It’s a mystery box.”

Freitas’ home is tucked away in a relatively quiet north Columbus neighborhood, charming to most, but for her, she said she’s been terrorized by a sound for the last four years.

She said she first noticed the noise coming from the mystery box before buying the home in 2019.

"I actually asked the real estate agent about it and she was like, 'Oh, it just sounds like there's a problem with the utility line. You'll have to have that looked into,’” Freitas said.

Since then, Freitas said the noise has become a nightmare.

“I moved in, and I contacted the city through the 311 number, and they told me that it sounded like an electrical issue and I needed to contact AEP, not them,” she said.

But when AEP crews came to the property…

“They left a note on my door telling me that it wasn’t an AEP box,” Freitas said.

She said she called the City of Columbus again, who suggested she contact other utility companies.

"I was talking to my next-door neighbor, and he said, ‘Don't waste your time,’” Freitas said.

With no answer in sight, she considered taking matters into her own hands.

"I had this great idea with my neighbor that I was going to take a ladder in the middle of the night, he was going to hold the ladder for me and I was going to go up there and just knock the box down,” Freitas said.

Her coworkers talked her out of that and into calling Better Call 4.

“She was like, 'What about Better Call 4,' and I'm like, 'You're right! That's a great idea!” Freitas said.

After meeting with Freitas, NBC4 did a little investigating and then reached out to AT&T, Breezeline, and Spectrum. That same day, Breezeline said, “That unit appears to belong to Charter/Spectrum.”

Not long after, Charter Communications said, “The power supply was swapped. Everything should be fine now.”

Just to be certain, Better Call 4 went back to the north Columbus neighborhood, and… mystery solved.

Freitas said the silence never sounded so good.

“So, what took me four years of trying to do myself, it only took you guys two days, so Better Call 4 really worked for me and I can't thank you guys enough,” she said.

Better Call 4 never received an answer about why the noise started, why it took so long for a resolution, or if anything can be done to prevent it from happening again.