Hanover Police is sending videos of thieves to the FBI for picture enhancement after officers foiled vandals who broke into Thayer Dining Hall early Thursday morning.
Hanover Police Officer Steve Reid said the police responded to a call from Safety and Security that reported some people "running around in Thayer."
Reid said at least two people were inside the dining hall filling "four to five big bags of Snapple, Orangina, M and Ms and Pringles." He said there were possibly four or five thieves.
After one of the thieves appeared near the window in Food Court where they cut a whole in the screen, Reid said the police yelled at them to stop.
The thieves then scrambled to avoid capture by the police, Reid said in a telephone interview yesterday.
As the police headed towards the Full Fare entrance to find the culprits the burglars escaped out the handicapped entrance on the south-side of Thayer,Reid said.
Reid said he could not jump in Thayer through the window because it was five feet up. He said the police arrived too late to catch the perpetrators.
Reid said he leaning towards pointing the finger at Dartmouth students.
According to Reid, the police recovered 13 or 14 different fingerprints from Thayer and that the photographs taken by the dining hall's 16-camera security system are "good."
He said the FBI would enhance and enlarge the head shots of the thieves for identification.
"It is a Class B felony," Reid said. "We definitely want to see how far we can take this."
A Class B felony is punishable by more than seven years in jail, Reid said.
The thieves were wearing hats, turtlenecks and their collars were turned up. Reid said one person was wearing a bandanna.
Reid said no money and nothing of value was taken.
Tucker Rossiter, assistant director of Dartmouth Dining Services, said the money is kept in a safe and that as far as he knows, no attempt was made to steal it.
Rossiter, who has been working for the College for 11 years, said this type of occurrence "has happened off and on."
Rossiter, who has been on vacation, but who was briefed about the incident, said he did not believe the burglary was motivated by money.
"It's just that someone is looking for potato chips," he said.
