HEBRON, Maine — Police in Paris are looking to the public for help in tracking down the final hours of a stolen car discovered engulfed in flames on Route 119 early Saturday morning.
Paris police Chief David Verrier said the 2002 Ford Escape was reported stolen about 1 a.m. Saturday by owner Nicholas Stanley from his Western Avenue apartment building in Paris. Verrier said Stanley told authorities he left his black, four-door SUV parked in front of his home with the keys in it when went out with friends Saturday evening about 6:30 p.m. and returned to find the SUV missing.
Verrier said Western Avenue is a residential street in Paris.
According to Verrier, about the same time Stanley was reporting the vehicle missing, the Oxford County Communications Center was dispatching the Hebron Fire Department to the scene of a vehicle burning on Route 119 about one mile from Hebron Academy on the Auburn side of the school.
Verrier said he went to location of the car fire and determined it was Stanley’s vehicle based on the license plate. He said the vehicle was considered a total loss and valued at $5,000.
At this time, Verrier said police are looking into whether or not the vehicle stopped to fill up its gas tank, because Stanley told authorities that the SUV needed gas the last time he drove it.
Happy nobody was hurt! Please let this be a lesson to others to lock your car doors, and NOT leave the keys in it!
“police are looking into whether or not the vehicle stopped to fill up its gas tank”
Come on BDN, get some reporters who can actually write a grammatically correct sentence.
But wow! That’s some vehicle! Ford should be proud for designing such a smart car.
I thought so too. Maybe my next vehicle will be a “smart” Ford.
It’s a Sun Journal story, how about you find someone who can read a byline and know who to criticize?
You are right, I didn’t notice it wasn’t a BDN reporter. Shame on both me and Sun Journal.
A determined car thief can still steal you car. But why make it so easy by leaving the keys in it? I say make them work for it!
Sometimes Fords just catch on fire…
ya after a couple of miles he thought who would drive this thing.
How far did this gas sipper travel on a low tank, and why would a thief add gas to just to later burn it?
At least this one wasn’t occupied……
People have absolutely no respect for other people’s property anymore. I’d say make the theif pay restitution in the full value of the car for destroying it. This kind of thing just annoys me.