ROXBURY – A strong current of outrage continued to ripple through Roxbury on Friday following a rash of brazen car break-ins this month.

Investigating State Trooper Terry James and Ellis Pond Variety and Cabins owner Dennis Daniels both said they are worried that some victims living at Roxbury Pond camps would take the law into their own hands.

“People are very, very upset, very outraged,” James said Friday. “The person or persons who did this went through cars without care or regard for anything.”

Daniels estimated Friday that since July 3 about $1,500 in cash and coins has been stolen from 23 cars parked in driveways from West Shore Road at the pond to the Byron road.

He said a child’s $1,500 go-cart had also been stolen, along with $600 in the truck belonging to an invalid man.

“There’s some upset, irate people up here who might take the law into their own hands. Whoever did this to these people could soon find themselves with broken legs or broken arms,” Daniels said.

James said police have leads, the name of one possible suspect, and fingerprints recovered at one crime scene.

“If anyone has any information – any and all information – about suspicious people or things, call the State Police at 1-800-228-0857,” he said.

People could also call Mexico Police Chief James Theriault, who owns and operates Silver Lake Campground at 545-0416. The campground is at Roxbury Pond, which is also called Ellis Pond and Silver Lake.

James said the thefts were all centered around the pond’s three beaches.

“They took whatever was small – loose change, dollars, music CDs – and left more valuable things untouched, like digital cameras, cell phones, a golf bag with clubs,” he said.

Daniels said some unlocked cars even had the keys in the ignition, but no cars were stolen.

Another camp owner, David Gallant, said he had friends out all day Friday on ATVs driving around the area looking for his son Nick’s go-cart.

“They made my kid cry so much. I’m really, really mad about this. You don’t mess with an 8-year-old kid. It’s bad enough to do it to adults, but when you make a little kid cry, it’s pretty bad stuff,” he said.

Gallant, who owns Gallant’s Discount Furniture on Route 120, posted a sign in a store window offering a $100 reward for information “on whoever stole Nick Gallant’s Go-Kart.”

He may be reached at 545-2442 during the day or 545-2718 at night.

The red and silver Yerf-Dog Model 3206 Go-Kart, which cost him $1,575, has a roll bar and weighs 425 pounds.

He bought it March 5, and he and his son only rode it a couple of times because of this summer’s bad weather, David Gallant said.

His pickup truck was broken into, as was his neighbor’s. But he was more incensed about the go-cart theft.

“Being a calm-mad is worse than being an ugly-mad. If the cops don’t find you, I will. I don’t care if it takes 10 years, I’ll find them,” he said.

Three years ago, David Gallant said someone broke into his camp and destroyed his son’s bedroom, causing $2,000 in damage.

“You work your butt off for everything you’ve got, then you have these punks come up here and rip you off,” he said.

North Road residents Barry Allen and his wife, Anne Morin, were also upset about the thefts. Thursday night, someone broke into Anne’s locked car, which was parked beside their camp under a spotlight.

Allen said the Silver Lake Camp Owners Association is looking into hiring a constable or raising money for police coverage in the summer, when the town’s population swells to more than 600 people.

Daniels said the association was also in the process of gathering money to offer a reward for information about the thefts or thieves.

Morin said the thefts were “a real violation of people here. The losses are minimal, but how can you place a value on trust and safety?

“There’s never been any thefts up here, so that wonderful feeling of safety here, that’s what has been stolen.”