Water pulls a vanishing act

Thanks to T. Woodrich for spotting this bizarre story for us! He heard it mentioned on the radio and scared up a Bangor Daily News article about it.

Despite all the honest Yankees out there, there are still some Mainers who will stop at nothing to steal what they want, from dragging ATMs out of storefronts with their pickup trucks to siphoning gas out of cars in the dark of the night. But this is a new one on me... read on!

Stonington firm searching for missing water
By Rich Hewitt
BDN Staff

STONINGTON, Maine — The Stonington Water Co. has a mystery on its hands.

Large amounts of water have been disappearing regularly from the system since October, and officials don’t know how or why. It does not appear to be a leak, according to water company Superintendent Roger Stone, and the missing water is not running into the town sewer system.

There’s concern that someone may be drawing water from the system either deliberately or by accident.

Either way, the problem is getting worse.

“It’s bizarre,” Stone said Thursday.

Since October, approximately 1.2 million gallons of water has simply disappeared from the water company tanks. It always happens on Wednesday, Stone said.
[...]
The problem appears to be getting worse. Stone calculates that about 200,000 gallons was missing in October; it increased to about 400,000 gallons in November; and to more than 600,000 gallons in December.
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Stone has discounted a leak, although he continues to check the water lines regularly. A leak doesn’t start and stop once a week, he said.
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Stone said they have searched for chlorine residue in areas where the water may have been dumped, but so far they have turned up no clues as to where the water is going, Stone said.

“There’s absolutely no sign of it,” he said.
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Stone has concluded that some individual or individuals are behind the water loss.

“Somebody’s doing it,” Stone said. “What we don’t know [is] if it’s malicious or not.”

The mystery is a costly one for the water company. About 75 percent of the water that has passed through the system in the past several months has not been paid for, Stone said.
[...]
While he continues to search for the source of the water losses, Stone is urging Stonington residents to contact him if they go anywhere where they hear the sound of continuous running water, or if they notice anything else out of the ordinary. They can contact Stone at the town office at 367-2351.

Read full article here: [Source]

You are NOT in a video game.

Well, this seemed almost like a straightforward minor crime spree until got to the quote about the reason Goding gave for his actions.

"I Thought I Was in a Video Game"
Vanessa Cutter, Assignment Editor

A Westbrook man was arrested Saturday night after he allegedly stole a car, crashed it and then tried to break into an 80-year-old woman's apartment.

Police say around 9 o'clock, 22-year-old Kyle Goding stole a car from 28 Stevens Avenue then crashed it a few minutes later on the same street. Police say he then fled on foot and tried to break into an elderly woman's apartment at 308 Brown Street.

The woman was able to call police and keep the door locked, preventing Goding from busting in. Officers say a neighbor pushed Goding out of the way when he saw him kicking at the door. When police arrived, they allegedly wrestled Goding to the ground and arrested him just before 11 p.m. Authorities say Goding told them he "thought he was in a video game."
[...]
Read the full article at WGME's website here: [Source]

Bludgeoned by truck!

I popped onto the Mount Desert Islander newspaper website to check their police blotter (thanks to Nicole, who gave me the link and recommended the site back in October). And what rewards!!! Right off the bat, I was greeted by this bizarre headline:

Island Police: Driver bludgeons building with truck
Tuesday, February 24, 2009

BAR HARBOR — Police across Hancock County are on the lookout for a GMC pickup that allegedly struck the building housing the closed Nakorn Thai restaurant on Cottage Street Saturday evening. A witness to the events described seeing a maroon pickup stop at a stop sign on Federal Street, at the intersection with Cottage Street across from the restaurant. The driver of the truck then reportedly squealed the truck’s tires on the ground, flew across Cottage Street, went up and over the sidewalk, across the Nakorn Thai parking lot, and slammed into the building. The vehicle then backed up and drove up Kennebec Street, according to the report.
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A woman reported seeing a broken window with a curtain blowing in and out of it on an upstairs floor of the Ledgelawn Inn Feb. 13. Police notified a contact person for the inn.
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A blue “snowflake” flag was reported stolen from in front of a Main Street business Feb. 13. A number of similar flags, which announce that a business is open during the winter, have been reported stolen from downtown locations within the past weeks.
[...]

Mount Desert

A 15-horsepower Mercury outboard motor was reported stolen Feb. 13 from a boat at the Bartlett’s Island Landing.

That same day, a Seal Harbor woman complained about two men who came to her door wanting to talk about religion. She told police the men were aggressive and that she became frightened. The men left when the woman asked them to leave. The incident is under investigation.

[...]

View the complete blotter report here: [Source]

In Maine, it's easy to remember the adage that "Truth is stranger than fiction"!

A criminal who cleans up?

The Lakes Region Weekly reported on yet another bizarre Maine violent crime occurrence. (My italics.)

Brutal home invasion shocks town
By Julia Davis
Reporter - Lakes Region Weekly

STANDISH (Feb 12, 2009):
[...]
On Sunday morning at around 8:15 a.m. [Rick] Carlson, 55, of 44 Shore Road, showed up at his friend and neighbor Chris Danie’s house bloody and banged up.
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According to Danie, Carlson was sleeping in the living room with the television on, which is normal for him. He told Danie he awoke at 2 a.m. to a gun pressed to his head and a man demanding money. He grabbed the gun, realized it was plastic and the two men fought. The intruder pulled out a carving knife and stabbed Carlson in the arm and the back, Danie said, also cutting Carlson’s hand in the process. The intruder stayed in his house for six hours, taking the time to wash his bloody clothing in Carlson’s washing machine and dryer and tying Carlson up with duct tape before he left, Danie said.

Later that day, police arrested Ephriam Bennett, 46, about a quarter mile from the crime scene and charged him with elevated aggravated assault, robbery and burglary. Bennett, who prefers to be addressed as “E,” has a criminal record in Texas, North Carolina and Maine. He lived previously in Searsmont, though his most recent address was in Raleigh, N.C, according to Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion.
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In interviews with other media outlets since his arrest, Bennett has disputed the charges against him and police's version of events.

Carlson was taken to Maine Medical Center, where he was treated for two stab wounds, numerous cuts to his face and head and multiple broken ribs. He also lost a number of teeth from the incident, according to Dion. By Wednesday morning, he had been discharged from the hospital.
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Danie, his girlfriend and other friends spent Monday morning cleaning Carlson’s house, including bringing Carlson’s bloody couch to the dump and buying him a new one.

“It was a bloody mess, not something you would want to come home to,” Danie said.

Danie said Carlson was calm enough Sunday morning to tell him what had happened. According to Danie, after Carlson was stabbed, he gave up fighting and curled up into a ball on the couch. The intruder stayed in his house, disabling Carlson’s phone, going through his change and washing his bloody clothing. He was wandering around the house demanding $3,000, Danie said, adding that Carlson told him the intruder also asked him to write a permission slip for use of his car.

Before he left, the man tied Carlson up in the bedroom, wedged a chair in front of the door to hold it closed and left him there, bleeding, Danie said. Carlson then forced the door open and freed himself from the duct tape tying his hands and feet. He drove to Danie’s house for help and they called the police.
[...]
In her 23 years living in Standish, Liz Keeley said she has seen the town change.

"Standish isn't the little town it used to be," Keeley said, adding that there are a lot more people living in the town and the crimes seem to be getting more and more bizarre.

Other residents were less affected by the incident.
[...]

Read full article here, and see photo: [Source]