Derry police are seeking information on a suspicious vehicle first seen in the area of Warner Hill Road on Memorial Day.
Derry Police Capt. Vern Thomas wrote in a press release that on Monday, May 25, the department was contacted by a “concerned citizen” living on Warner Hill Road. According to Thomas, the woman said she was working outside in the back yard while her pre-teen daughter and a friend were playing in the front yard.
Thomas wrote, “She stated that her child ran to the back of the house and told that there was a car parked in their yard. The mother went to the front of the house and observed a black car parked on the grass of her front yard at the side of the road. The girl’s friend was walking over to the car, which was occupied by an older man with gray hair. The man was doing something with a cell phone but was not making a call. The mother called out to the child to come to her.”
Thomas said the car reportedly immediately sped off headed toward Hampstead Road. The girls said the man did not speak to them.
The area where the car was parked was about 20 feet from where the children were playing in the driveway and in clear view, according to Thomas. The car was facing Hampstead Road headed north and had pulled over to the wrong side of the road and parked partly on the reporting party’s lawn.
The car was described an older model black car, possibly a Ford, possibly with a spoiler on the back. The man driving was a white male, estimated in his 60s, and was alone in the car.
On May 26, Derry Police received a similar report from a resident on Chester Road. According to Thomas, this woman stated that on May 25 between 4:30 and 5 p.m. her preteen son and preschool-age daughter were playing in the front yard when a car pulled over and stopped at the end of her driveway.
Thomas wrote, “When the children alerted her, she looked out the front window of her home and saw a black car parked on the edge of the road partially blocking her driveway. She observed a man with a cell phone in his hand but he did not appear to be making a call. The car drove away when she stepped closer to her window.”
Reportedly, the windows of the car were rolled up except for the passenger side, which was down and was the window facing her house. Thomas said further descriptions of this car pointed to it as an older model, possibly a Ford hatchback. The driver had a similar description to the man from the Warner Hill Road incident.
No crimes appear to have been committed in either of these incidents, although the driver’s behavior concerned the parents. Those with information regarding these incidents may call Derry police at 432-6111.
