Towns hit by outboard crime wave<br /><br />HOOKSETT - Residents in a handful of neighboring towns are reporting what appears to be a string of outboard motor thefts. <br /><br />Boat owners in Allenstown, Epsom, Hooksett and Manchester have all reported the thefts within the last month. The small boat motors, which cost anywhere from $1,800 to $2,500 apiece, have been taken off of boats parked behind sheds or even in driveways - sometimes in daylight. <br /><br />Green's Marine in Hooksett had two stolen last week. One motor belonged to a customer, the other to the store. <br /><br />"I just want to let people know: Hey, keep an eye on your stuff,"said Wally MacRitchie, a salesman at Green's. <br /> <br />MacRitchie said at least a half-dozen customers have come in for new motors within the past month because their old ones had been stolen. Most of the theft victims are older fishermen who don't have a lot of money, he said. <br /><br />In one case, a victim saw a couple of cars pulled over near his house but didn't think much of it. "They went through the woods behind his shed and took the motor off his boat," MacRitchie said. <br /><br />Another man, who lives on Route 3 in Hooksett, had his motor stolen off the boat in his driveway. <br /><br />The Allenstown police said they've had one report of a stolen motor, which had been taken from a fenced storage area at Holiday Acres mobile home park. Another was taken last week in Epsom. <br /><br />"Everyone is telling their buddies, but no one's telling the general public," McRitchie said. "We leave our boats in driveways. These guys are very quick, and they are brave." <br /><br />Motors have serial numbers but are difficult to track once they leave the area, he said. A motor taken in Minnesota could be sold in New Hampshire without anyone knowing.
<br /><br />