Jan. 21, Dartmouth College
A Dartmouth sophomore had bid $4,000 for a car in an eBay auction, but did not win the auction. Soon after the auction's end, the seller sent her an e-mail on her Dartmouth account, telling her that since the winner of the auction had failed to complete the transaction, she had the option to buy the car for $4,000. She decided to purchase the car, and the seller asked her to send a money order for the complete amount to Chicago through Western Union. The sophomore sent the money order, for which Western Union charged her $184, and never heard anything from the seller. She then contacted Hanover Police, who traced the location where the seller received the money order, and discovered that the seller had used a forged driver's license to complete the transaction. Police are still investigating this case, and are receiving more help from Western Union than from eBay, according to Chief Nicholas Giaccone. "When law enforcement gets involved, eBay makes us go through lots of red tape and jump through hoops. By the time that's all done, it's too late to catch the individuals," Giaccone said.
Jan. 26, Lyme Road, 10:29 a.m.
A man arrested in Georgia was extradited to New Hampshire on multiple charges of theft by deception in Hanover and Lebanon. The man and his wife, who is still at large, had allegedly been stealing vitamins and possibly other goods from one Co-op Food Store and trying to return it to the other for credit. There are two Co-op Food Stores, one in Hanover and one in Lebanon. Police know of three incidents, two on Dec. 6 and one on Dec. 15, in which the culprits attempted to pass off a total of $146.35 worth of goods as their own. The man also has active warrants out for his arrest in Georgia and California.
Jan. 28, Lyme Road, 10:21 a.m.
An 89-year-old woman living in the Kendal retirement community called Hanover Police to report that her 1997 white Subaru Impreza had been smashed and its hood pried open. Police arrived at the scene to find that the vehicle had not in fact incurred any damage. Officers learned that the woman had not driven her car recently and, as a result, the Subaru would not start. The elderly woman had merely assumed that vandalism had caused her car's troubles since she had heard that someone had broken into the car next to hers and stolen 35 cents.
Jan. 30, Connecticut River, 11:47 a.m.
A woman was walking in the Pine Park area with her two dogs by the Connecticut River, when one of the dogs went onto the frozen river and fell through the ice. The woman called a friend in Hanover, who relayed the message to Hanover Police. When police received word of the situation, Giaccone went ahead to the scene while other officers retrieved a ladder from the fire department. When Giaccone arrived, the 90-pound yellow Labrador, who had been in the water for nearly a half hour, was trying to get out of the river but continually failed, due to the slippery ice. Eventually the officers arrived with the ladder, which was just long enough to reach the shivering dog, who by then had stopped trying to climb onto the ice. Captain Frank Moran crawled out on the ladder, grabbed the dog out of the water and brought him back to shore. Police rushed the Labrador to a veterinarian, where they found that his body temperature had dropped to 92 degrees Fahrenheit, which is thought to be two degrees above fatal. The dog is doing fine.
Jan. 30, Mass Row, 4:40 p.m.
A Dartmouth student reported to Hanover Police that he had purchased an engagement ring on eBay earlier in the month but had not yet received the ring. The student's check for $1,385.50 cleared on Jan. 12. Police are investigating the situation.
