By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
HOULTON — As the holiday season approaches, the Houlton Police Department is seeking the public’s help to catch an individual or individuals who is in the spirit of taking rather than giving.
Houlton Police Chief Joe McKenna said Monday that at least four local churches — The First Baptist Church on Court Street, Houlton Wesleyan on Kelleran, Full Gospel Assembly on outer Court Street and the Military Street Baptist Church on upper Military Street — have all been burglarized over the past two weeks.
“What is happening is a person or persons are breaking in looking for petty cash,” McKenna said. “No other items are being taken. No electronics are being touched or anything else, it’s just small amounts of cash.”
McKenna could not provide a total dollar amount of the cash taken thus far, but said it did not amount to a large sum. At one of the churches, police initiated a canine search and tracked a scent to an area near Madigan Estates, behind the police department, before losing the trail.
The chief added there have not been any other signs of vandalism at the churches impacted. He cautioned other ministers to be more cognizant of the fact that their house of worship could be targeted next.
At least one church has told police they plan to install motion cameras on the property in the event that such an occurrence happens again.
McKenna said it was not uncommon during the colder months for churches to leave their doors unlocked so individuals could find a safe, warm place to escape the elements. He said that practice could be in jeopardy because of the recent burglaries.
“We as a community have to change our way of thinking,” McKenna said. “We can’t just go off and leave homes unlocked, or keys in cars. It is not a matter of the town being corrupt, it is just a matter of the times we now live in. These are crimes of opportunity.”
Anyone with information on these crimes can contact Det. Steve Nason of the Houlton Police Department at 532-2287.
