A stolen City of Nome pickup truck was found abandoned and in ruin Tuesday morning off the Kougarok Road. The vehicle belonged to Nome City Manager Tom Moran, who says the truck was stolen from outside of his apartment on Monday night between 10 pm and 6:30 am.
“At 7:05 A.M., I got a call from the Nome police dispatch, which handles dispatching for the Alaska State Troopers, after business hours, and they asked me if my vehicle had been in a collision on the Kougarok Road at about mile six. I told them it had not. They called back and said it was a black pick-up with a yellow logo, so I got out of bed and went outside to look, and sure enough, the vehicle was missing.”
The Nome Volunteer Fire Department and Volunteer Ambulance Department surveyed the crash site located at Mile 7.1 on the Kougarok Road. No injured persons were found at the site. Police suspect that the person driving the stolen truck may have sustained injuries.
After a scene investigation, Nome City Police Chief John Papasadora says the pickup truck is a total loss. This isn’t the first time a car has been reported stolen and abandoned in Nome this summer, but Papasadora says this isn’t unusual.
“We get several stolen vehicles a year,” he said. “Most of them fit the same format. Somebody leaves the keys inside a vehicle or leaves the vehicle unsecured.”
As for Papasadora’s recommendation for Nome residents, he says to be vigilant.
“Protect your property. Protect your homes. Protect yourselves and exercise good security, and perhaps we can avoid some of these situations,” he said.
Currently, there are no known suspects. Nome police are actively investigating to identify who took the vehicle. In the meantime, the stolen, city-owned pickup truck has been towed and currently resides in the police impound lot.
This story originates from KNOM Mission Radio and was republished with permission.
