Kennebunk police investigating after Jeep is stolen amid wave of car burglaries
KENNEBUNK, Maine — A Jeep stolen on Day Street on Saturday is still missing.
According to Kennebunk Police Chief Bob MacKenzie, the vehicle is a white Jeep Renegade with a Maine license plate of 4855ZU.
On Monday, Heather Smith, the owner of the Jeep, asked people to be on the lookout for her vehicle, whether they’re out driving or taking a walk along a trail or a dead-end dirt road.
“It’s out there, somewhere,” she said.
Smith’s Jeep is not the only vehicle reported stolen over the weekend. MacKenzie said they also received a number of reports of cars being burglarized over the weekend.
According to MacKenzie, police received a report of a suspicious vehicle parked along the side of the road on Chamberlain Way at around 4:40 a.m. on Saturday. Police learned later that morning that the vehicle had been stolen out of Wells.
The two car thefts could be related, according to MacKenzie.
“We certainly suspect that,” he said.
Anyone who sees Smith’s Jeep is urged to call 9-1-1, MacKenzie said. Anyone with information that could lead to the recovery of the vehicle and to the suspect who took it is urged to call Detective Steven Borst at (207) 985-2102, ext. 1319, he added.
In particular, MacKenzie said footage from home security cameras could prove helpful, in the chance that it actually captures images of either vehicle or helps establish a timeline of events in some way.
MacKenzie said the car burglaries took place in the Day Street-Chamberlain Way area of Route 1 over Friday night into Saturday morning. In some instances, cash was stolen, he said.
“A lot of cars were gone through,” MacKenzie added.
And they all had one factor in common: every vehicle was unlocked, according to the Police Department’s post on Facebook on Sunday.
“We cannot stress this enough,” the KPD said in its post. “PLEASE LOCK YOUR VEHICLES! It only takes one second to help safeguard your vehicle and property ... Don’t make things easy for a burglar.”
The post urged people not to leave money, car keys, and other valuables in their cars when they’re not driving.
“This is a crime of opportunity,” MacKenzie said. “Although we live in a safe area, these things happen from time to time.”
Smith echoed MacKenzie’s remark in her own comments on Monday. She described the theft of her Jeep as an “eye-opener and a realization that things are changing.”
“You just never know what could happen,” she said. “Even if you think it wouldn’t happen in a small, well-known town, it certainly does.”
This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Kennebunk police: Jeep stolen amid wave of car burglaries in town
