DIXFIELD – Police are seeking help from the public in locating a suspicious person and his vehicle after an incident on Third Street Sunday.

Officer Charles Beale responded to a suspicious person report in the vicinity of Third Street and Oak Lane at 4 p.m. Sunday. While he didn’t locate the person, police noted that it was the second such incident in that area in the past four to six weeks.

That’s why they’re seeking help in locating or identifying the man described as having dark brown hair and a bushy beard. He was driving a burgundy-colored Dodge Spirit, which had a blue driver-side door.

“Anyone who may have observed such a person or vehicle is encouraged to contact the department at 562-4157 with further information,” a press release stated.

Icy road claims Jeep

DIXFIELD – Two area women escaped serious injury Saturday when their Jeep slid on icy roads and wrapped itself around a utility pole.

Driver Marsha G. White, 56, of Peru, was unhurt, but passenger Cynthia L. Martell, 42, of Dixfield, complained of pain. Both were treated at the scene and released by Med-Care Ambulance paramedics.

The wreck occurred on Route 2 at its intersection with Canton Point Road at 10:40 a.m.

From evidence at the scene, Chief Richard A. Pickett said it appeared that the eastbound 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee slid on the unsanded, snow-covered road and slammed into a utility pole.

“It looks like they spun almost 180 degrees, struck the pole almost head on and the Jeep wrapped itself around the pole on the passenger side,” Pickett said.

The crash felled power lines and a flashing traffic control light, forcing traffic to be rerouted through the Maine Department of Transportation Division 7 complex for 60 minutes.

“We’re very grateful to a passerby who found the wreck and blocked the road with his vehicle and stopped traffic because sparking wires completely covered the mouth of the Canton Road and Route 2,” Pickett said.

The two women had to remain in the crushed vehicle for nearly 15 minutes until a Central Maine Power crew could shut down electricity in the area.

Dixfield firefighters assisted in rerouting traffic until the scene could be cleared. M/T Pockets of Dixfield towed the Jeep, which sustained $5,000 damage.

-Terry Karkos