Investigation continues into theft of $1,000 from police station

The Conway Daily Sun, conwaydailysun.com
BYLINE: Erik Eisele
Link to Article

Conway, NH

CONWAY — New details emerged this week about the theft inside the police department that occurred this past spring, but still no suspects have been identified.

The amount stolen, according to town officials, was $1,000.

It was cash, Conway Police spokesman Lt. Chris Perley said, held by a paperclip — no wallet, no envelope, no identifiers.

“It was just turned-in money,” he said. “That’s all it was.”

The cash was found property someone turned in to the department in case anyone came to claim it. It was being stored in the department’s secure evidence room.

Not returning found property is a crime in New Hampshire, but if property goes unclaimed for six months the person who found it can claim it.

The $1,000 this person found, however, disappeared from behind the department’s locked doors before the six-month period was up.

The money went missing in late March, at least two months after it was turned in. The department launched an internal investigation, and then in early April turned the case over to State Police.

“The case is still active and ongoing,” Perley said after speaking with State Police. “I don’t think it’s far from being closed.”

The person who turned the $1,000 in was entitled to the money if no one claimed it within six months. With the cash no longer sitting in the police evidence room, however, the department had to dip into its budget to pay the person.

The money came out of the police professional services line, town manager Earl Sires said, and it was paid on July 28.

For privacy reasons, officials withheld the identity of the individual who received the money.

Although these details answer several minor questions about the incident, the main question of who stole money from within a secure area inside the police department remains unanswered.

“It was clearly somebody within the police department, hence the reason there was an internal investigation,” chief Ed Wagner said when the incident was first made public, but “I have no concerns about anybody who works here.”

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