VERSHIRE — A 37-year-old Barre, Vt., man is facing a charge of possession of stolen property after allegedly taking road signs in Vershire and attempting to sell them online, according to a news release from Vermont State Police.
Members of the Vershire Selectboard initially reported the incident in the evening hours of Sunday, Dec. 14, the release said.
“Our road superintendent had noticed that there was a Facebook Market page advertisement of our road signs being posted,” said Nicole White-Fogarty, chair of the Vershire Selectboard. “At that point, (he) and I had communicated and I had also reached out to another board member and our road commissioner.”
The thefts included as many as 10 road signs, White-Fogarty said.
The Selectboard informed police about the thefts, which occurred on “unknown dates,” the release said, “and the signs were currently listed for sale on social media.”
Troopers of the St. Johnsbury Barracks posed as potential buyers of the road signs and contacted the seller to coordinate a time and place.
Once troopers arrived at the agreed upon location, the man abandoned the pilfered road signs before attempting to flee the scene, police said.
They detained him and issued him a citation to appear in Washington County Superior Court Criminal Division on Jan. 29.
The town reported no direct threat to public safety due to the missing signs.
“(It was) more of a navigational burden to anyone following GPS or giving (directions),” White-Fogarty said.
The town expects the police to return five road signs this week, pending the completion of the police investigation, White-Fogarty said. The town is seeking replace the missing signs that weren’t recovered.