A Down East town says 30 street signs were snatched off its roads over two days last month and town officials want to find who is responsible.
At their March 30 meeting, selectmen in Lubec approved the creation of a $500 reward for information that could help lead to the arrest of whomever absconded with the signs, some poles and all.
“Somebody had to have seen something,” said Renee Gray, the Lubec town administrator.
While it’s not unusual for street signs to go missing now and again, the sheer number has town officials scrambling — and concerned for the impact on emergency services, which rely on the signs.
Between March 22 and 23, the town saw the 30 street signs go missing. Most were the rectangular street name signs, but there were also a couple stop signs.
“It’s going to take a month or so to get them all replaced,” Gray said.
A majority of the missing signs were taken from the roads along the way to the West Quoddy Head Lighthouse and off North Lubec Road, she said.
While the Washington County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the missing signs, the town is moving to replace them. Lubec ordered $2,000 worth of new signs last week.
Gray couldn’t tell if there was motive behind the alleged thefts, though people have theorized meddlesome kids or aluminum thieves.
While some may shrug and say it’s no big deal, Gray and the selectmen said not having the signs can waste precious seconds for first responders.
“911 depends on those signs,” she said. “It’s really serious.”
This far from the first time the town has lost signs. In August, six signs went missing. Gray said she understood if one or two went missing, that’s normal for towns.
“But this was 30,” she said. “It’s not cool.”