BELFAST, Maine — Local police are investigating a missing boat rudder and the vandalism of three school buses and a cannon in Grove Cemetery, which were sprayed with cherry-red paint overnight Monday.
Officer Rick Smith said police learned about the graffiti at 6 a.m. Tuesday when someone first reported that the buses had been vandalized. One of the buses had “you suck” scrawled in large letters across the side, another had its steering wheel completely painted red, and the third was emblazoned with an unprintable phrase that left no question about the vandal’s strong dislike for Belfast.
Later that morning, police learned that the historic cannon and cannon balls at the cemetery had been sprayed with the same cherry-red paint. Police are investigating the matter, Smith said.
Also on Tuesday morning, police learned that someone evidently had gone to one of the sailboats moored in the harbor and removed a $900 wooden rudder. The owner of the sailboat had a diver go down to search for the rudder, in case it had fallen off, but the diver could not find it.
Police are investigating the case of the missing rudder, Smith said, adding that he did not believe it is linked to the spray-paint vandalism.