Tuesday, Oct. 22
Responding to a 1:43 a.m. call, the ambulance transported a female resident of Armstrong Road to Emerson Hospital. At 2:51 a.m. a party reported seeing a vehicle that was being driven erratically getting onto Route 2 from Ayer Road. The state police were notified. A dog was reported to have been struck by a car at 7:05 a.m. on West Bare Hill Road. The owner was notified. The dog survived the mishap, but its condition is unknown. At 9:05 a.m. the state police asked the Harvard Police to be on the lookout for a vehicle that had been involved in hit-and-run accidents in Stow and then Bolton. The car was later spotted by the Lancaster police, who gave chase. According to the Lancaster Sentinel and Enterprise, the female driver flipped the vehicle, a Toyota Camry, while negotiating a curve on Route 117, landing on a Cadillac sedan. The woman was airlifted to a Worcester hospital. There were no other injuries. Police retuned a bow to its owner, who came to the station at 12:15 p.m. to retrieve it. The bow had been removed from a vehicle involved in a single-car accident on Willard Lane last week. Bows require a license, which the owner possessed, but was unable to produce at the time of the accident. About 2 p.m., an officer responded to multiple complaints of a dog wandering on the road in the vicinity of the intersection Ayer Road and Still River Road in the center of town. No dog was found.
A woman came to the station at 4:14 p.m. to report having been scammed by a computer hacker. A man claiming to be “Jason” from Microsoft technical support had contacted her and offered to speed up her computer, replacing outdated software and renewing extended warranties for a fee of $360. The woman gave the hacker access to her computer and, using information he found there, he made multiple online purchases. Police traced the caller’s number to a New York or New Jersey location thought to be responsible for many reported frauds. The incident is under investigation, but Officer Daniele Fortunato told the Press that under no circumstances should residents give their private information—social security number, credit card numbers, bank account numbers—to an unsolicited caller.
About 6:30 p.m., a Mettacomett Path resident called police to report that his six-year-old daughter was missing. The Harvard police immediately notified the state police, who called for a helicopter and K-9 dogs to help with a search as dusk was approaching and police were concerned the child could have wandered into the nearby woods. The search was called off at 7:47 p.m. when it was determined that the girl had been picked up by her grandmother and was safe and sound.
Wednesday, Oct. 23
A neighbor called at 6:39 a.m. to say she had found a loose horse in the vicinity of West Bare Hill Road and Scott Road, hitched it to a fence, and notified the owner. At 4:22 p.m. a Littleton Road resident called police to report a burglary. The thieves had entered her house through an unlocked window sometime between 11:30 a.m. that morning and 4:20 p.m. in the afternoon. Missing were a 40-inch and 19- to 22-inch flatscreen TVs, an iPad, and silver and gold jewelry. The estimated value of the stolen goods is $10,000 to $20,000. Similar thefts have previously been reported near Littleton Road and Whitney Lane, at Craggs Road, and near Still River Road and Still River Depot Road. Officer Fortunato said that recent break-ins had occurred during the day and that the stolen items, like the 40-inch TV, were often large. “Perhaps a truck or van is being used,” she said. The thieves could be avoiding detection by appearing to be utility or service vehicles. But, she added, “residents need to secure their homes.” Someone called at 4:22 p.m. to report hearing a man on Ayer Road yelling at a dog to get back in his car. Police found nothing. The ambulance was called at 7:36 p.m. to assist a female resident of Still River, but when the EMTs arrived, the woman refused treatment.
Thursday, Oct. 24
A suspicious-looking pickup truck with Maine plates parked near the Depot Road soccer field caught the attention of a female passerby at 7:04 a.m. She called the police, who determined the vehicle belonged to a former citizen of the town and was not a problem. The owner of a vacant building on Ayer Road across from the Appleworks called police at 1:35 p.m. to report the structure had been vandalized for a second time. The miscreants, thought to be teenagers, had entered through a missing panel in a garage door and broken four windows, causing damage estimated at $250. The windows, damaged in a previous incident, had just been repaired the previous day, Oct. 23. A female resident of Still River Road, thinking someone had entered her house while she was away, called police at 4:14 p.m. The investigating officer surmised the wind may have blown open the door that provoked her concern.
Friday, Oct. 25
The ambulance, responding to a 3:33 p.m. call from a Still River Road resident, transported a female to Emerson Hospital.
Saturday, Oct. 26
At 8:40 p.m., police investigated a report of possible break-in attempt at a Bolton Road residence. The garage doors of the home appeared to have been forced open two to three feet, but nothing had been taken. The incident was thought to have occurred between 7:50 a.m. and 10 a.m.
Sunday, Oct. 27
Shortly after midnight, a driver reported hitting a deer near the intersection of South Shaker Road and Stonecutters Path. Police could not locate the animal. The driver was uninjured, and there was no damage to his vehicle.
Monday, Oct. 28
Nothing significant to report.
