Elderly woman loses large sum of money in Houlton theft

HOULTON, Maine — Houlton police are looking for information regarding a theft of nearly $1,000 from an elderly New Limerick woman who was shopping in Houlton Saturday.
According to Houlton Police Officer Stephen Nason, Nina Russell, 84, reported the theft of between $800-$900 from her vehicle while it was parked outside of County Yankee grocery store on Military Street between 11:30 and noon.
“You feel bad that the lady had her money stolen,” Nason said. “What happened is she cashed her check and the money was placed in an envelope. She went and bought gas and then went shopping at County Yankee. She remembers taking money from the envelope and putting it back over the visor of her vehicle.”
Nason said Russell did not lock the door to her vehicle.
There are no surveillance cameras in the area, so the police do not have any suspects at the present time, nor were there any eyewitnesses thus far.
“We believe the window was rolled down, and the suspect simply reached in and took the envelope,” Nason said. “There were no [suspect] fingerprints found on her vehicle. Unfortunately, this woman is out a lot of money and chances are it will not be recovered.”
Nason cautioned residents from carrying large sums of money and reminded individuals to always lock their doors when exiting a vehicle or their homes.
“I’ve said this before, but in the five years working at HPD, I have never covered a case where someone has actually broken into a vehicle,” he said. “It’s always been an unlocked vehicle.”
Anyone with information on this case should contact the HPD at 532-2287 or call the anonymous tip line at 694-3545.