(The Portsmouth Herald posted the following article by Elizabeth Kenny on its website on March 20.)
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — Portsmouth police officers, firefighters, state police and the Manchester bomb squad were called in Tuesday morning after a black Ford truck carrying three 55-gallon barrels was found parked on railroad tracks in the city.
The large black barrels were later found to contain driveway sealant, but with the nation s newly heightened terror alert, and the president s 48-hour deadline for possible military action against Iraq, the stalled truck on the tracks placed thoughts of terrorism into the minds of some local law enforcement officials.
“The way we dealt with this matter was a little different with everything going on,” said Portsmouth Police Sgt. D.J. Ferland, who explained that in other circumstances thoughts of calling in the state police and the bomb squads and the possible evacuation of neighboring houses may not have been considered.
The concern was further heightened when police realized that it wasn t just one vehicle that had been abandoned, but rather two were found parked on the tracks and one stuck in a mud pile near the tracks.
The flatbed Ford F250 along with a blue Ford Escort and a Toyota Camry station wagon were all reported stolen around 8 p.m. on Monday from Foreign Autoworks on Government Street in Kittery, Maine, according to Kittery Police Detective William Hackett.
All three cars were found parked either on or alongside the railroad tracks near Partnership Road. The tracks run parallel to Islington Street.
Hackett said Kittery and Portsmouth police are now working on a joint investigation; no suspects have yet been identified.
A resident living in the area called police around 8 a.m. on Tuesday to report a suspicious truck on the railroad tracks near his home, Ferland said.
Police responded in minutes, according to Ferland, and a call was quickly placed to Guilford Rail System, which owns the tracks, for fear that a train was scheduled to pass the tracks shortly.
Gilford s executive vice president, David Fink, said the train was being routed on a different track, but this wasn t known to Ferland, who said he could hear the train s whistle during the investigation and thought it was headed toward the blocked tracks.
“We quickly established a command post, and prepared the (nearby) houses to evacuate,” said Ferland, adding that once the Fire Department was called in, and a brief inspection of the truck was complete, Islington Street was reopened and residents were informed that the barrels most likely contained driveway sealant.
The street was blocked off for about 10 to 15 minutes.
Later, the state bomb squad responded and the vehicles were towed off the tracks.
Before the substance in the barrels was identified, however, the scene at the tracks seemed eerie and distressing.
The two rear tires of the black truck sat on the train tracks, and the barrels were in the back, immersed in morning fog. In the distance, the other two vehicles could be seen on or near the tracks.
Hackett, the Kittery police detective, said the three vehicles had three different owners, and all three will receive their cars once the investigation is completed.
Two pieces of evidence were taken from the vehicles, Hackett said, adding that no real leads have yet arisen.
The keys were still inside the vehicles, he said, and damage seemed to be limited to a few flat tires from driving into the mud and over the tracks.
According to Hackett, the three cars are valued at around $5,000 each, making the theft a felony.
Anyone who has information regarding the theft is asked to contact either the Kittery Police Department at (207) 439-1638 or the Portsmouth Police Department at (603) 427-1500.