Posted on 03/23/2004 2:31:14 PM PST by Redcoat LI
Humvees swiped from Guard base found in Dracut By Thomas Caywood Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Two military Humvees, stolen from a Massachusetts National Guard base in Reading by unpatriotic thieves, were recovered last night in Dracut, according to police.
The Humvees, stolen either late Sunday or early yesterday, were recovered from a wooded area about a half-mile off Methuen Road, state police said. Tips from residents led state police to the military vehicles.
After a thorough check by state police crime services, the trucks were driven out of the woods and loaded onto tow trucks that returned them to the base.
No one has been arrested for the theft, said state police trooper Tom Ryan. ``State police are actively pursuing leads,'' he said.
The thieves smashed the all-purpose Army trucks - free of ammunition or weapons - through a locked gate in a chain-link fence on the Wakefield side of Camp Curtis Guild in Reading, state police Sgt. David Paine said. The stolen Humvees belong to the Melrose-based 972nd Military Police Company and were at the camp for repairs.
Dubbed ``turtlebacks,'' the M1025 version of the Army's High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle, or Humvee, has a hard top that slopes down to the rear bumper.
The closest civilian version of the boosted Humvees, the Hummer H1 wagon, sells for about $116,000.
Military Humvees don't require a key to open or start, although their steering wheels often are locked in place while parked with a chain and padlock.
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