By Lynne Hendricks
Staff Writer
—
AMESBURY — Police issued an alert to agencies across the state yesterday to be on the lookout for a National Grid truck that may have been stolen, after an Elm Street resident phoned police to report a peculiar visit from someone claiming to be a National Grid employee checking homes in the area.
According to Sgt. William Scholtz, the resident called Thursday morning to relay the incident. Based on what the resident told them, police decided to issue a Baypern alert to police departments from Boston to Chelmsford in search of the vehicle and driver.
"A resident called and said somebody in a National Grid truck, in a National Grid shirt, came in to check the services and wanted to check the building," Scholtz said. "They were refused entry and subsequently left. Some of the conversation that transpired led him to believe (the National Grid visit) might not be legitimate."
Scholtz said the supposed National Grid employee asked the resident for access to the home in order to read the electric meter, but demonstrated in the course of the conversation a lack of knowledge of where the meter was located that alarmed the resident.
Considering the incident is under investigation and could turn out to be either a dangerous situation or nothing more than a misunderstanding, Scholtz declined to discuss further details of the conversation reported by the caller.
But, he said the police department has been working with National Grid to try to determine whether there was someone slated to be in the area yesterday checking people's service. What they've learned so far from National Grid leads them to believe the visit was not a legitimate one from the company that provides electricity to most of the homes in Amesbury, he said.
"Talking with National Grid, they found the exact circumstances a little odd," said Scholtz, who added, however, that the electric company is not aware of any vehicles that have gone missing.
Police felt the homeowner's concerns were valid enough to prompt a search for the driver and truck in the downtown area yesterday, as well as in the vicinity of the home in question.
"We were out in the area 10 to 15 minutes looking in the immediate area downtown, speaking with some of the people in the area, mail carriers and people out walking around the street seeing if they saw anything," Scholtz said. "We had an officer out speaking more in depth with neighbors. We put it out on Baypern — the area-wide radio frequency that we use. It goes from here to Boston and all the way out to Lowell and Chelmsford. Nothing came back — not yet."
Police also sent out a regional broadcast over the state computer, Scholtz said. When asked whether police feel the driver may have been posing as a National Grid employee to gain access to the home, Scholtz said information the department has gleaned so far seems to indicate as much.
"Everything is leaning right now toward (National Grid) not having someone here, but they can't say it with absolute certainty," Scholtz said.
"If someone wants to come to your house, you're certainly able to ask for identification," Scholtz said. "They all have ID's, and they're all supposed to have them with them."
National Grid Spokeswoman Debbie Drew concurred with Scholtz in his determination that the visit was "odd," but she could not comment on the matter other than to say National Grid's Security Department was working with Amesbury police to determine what happened.
"They're engaged," Drew said of safety officers with the company. "I cannot confirm anything at this point."
