Etna canoeists find car damaged by vandals

BEDDINGTON – An Etna couple finished a canoe trip on the Narraguagus River on Monday to find that someone had smashed out their car windows and apparently tried to set it on fire.

Trooper Aaron Hanscom of the Maine State Police said the 1993 Honda Civic was parked near the Narraguagus River at the intersection of East Beddington Lake Road and Route 9.

Hanscom said he went to the scene Sunday after someone reported an abandoned vehicle. Almost all of the glass was broken and someone had started a fire in a small pile of paper between the seats, the trooper said.

The papers did not fully ignite, but the fire damaged the seats and the carpet, he said.

Hanscom said there were belongings in the vehicle that led him to believe the owners were on a canoe trip.

He impounded the car Sunday and said he became somewhat concerned when police had not heard from the owners by Monday morning.

After asking whether the Maine Warden Service had a plane in the air near the river, Hanscom said he drove into the Stud Mill Road, which is a popular canoeing point, and found the couple’s truck. On his way out, he met the couple just coming off the river, he said.

The incident was under investigation Monday by state police and the Fire Marshal’s Office as an attempted arson, Hanscom said.