HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Police Department is still seeking the public’s help in tracking down two individuals who destroyed an elderly woman’s walker Friday evening.
Houlton Police Chief Joe McKenna said the random act of violence was one of the more despicable acts of criminal mischief he had come across in all his years in law enforcement.
According to McKenna, Charlotte Sprague used a walker to go from her home on Lincoln Street to her car. The walker was left in her yard, the chief said.
“She came back from shopping about an hour later and found the walker had been destroyed,” the chief said.
Witnesses told police they saw two young, white males riding a dark colored all-terrain vehicle in that area. Police found tracks on the woman’s lawn that were consistent with those from an ATV. The tracks were in a circular fashion, revealing the individuals drove over the walker numerous times.
Police approached officials from Houlton Regional Hospital and the Houlton Fire Department to see if they had a walker Sprague could use temporarily. After those efforts proved unsuccessful, the police officer went to Walmart to see if there was anything there the woman could use to get by.
“A woman named Jody Schools approached the officer and asked what he was doing there,” the chief said. “When he explained the situation, she immediately offered a walker used by her father before he passed away.”
On the HPD’s Facebook page, Schools posted the following statement, “I am very honored to have been able to donate a replacement walker to this woman in need. My father, James Schools, passed away only a few short weeks ago and used this particular walker a get around only a few times. He was the most giving person and would want to help if he could. I hope the police are able to find who did this.”
Anyone with information on this crime is asked to contact the Houlton Police Department at 532-2287 or Aroostook County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-638-8477.
