RUMFORD – A new weekly community crime bulletin complete with mug shots of wanted suspects that was developed and posted this month by Rumford police on their Web site is working better than anticipated.

One man, Carl Morissette, 46, of Mexico, turned himself in on Aug. 14 after learning from the site that he is wanted on a warrant charging failure to appear on charge of disorderly conduct. He was released on $75 cash bail and is awaiting trial.

Another, Scott Sayce, 44, formerly of Rumford, who is wanted on warrants in several states, is being held on a warrant in a Georgia jail, according to family members who contacted Rumford police after last week’s bulletin was posted, according to department Webmaster and Patrolman Douglas Maifeld.

On Tuesday afternoon, Maifeld, who is on vacation, said by phone that he’d received e-mailed information about two women whose mug shots and criminal information were posted on Monday.

“This is going to be a great resource for the community,” Detective Lt. Daniel Garbarini said Tuesday afternoon at the police department. “I think it gives the public a chance to educate themselves about what’s going on in their communities rather than reading about it in the newspapers, and, more so, they might see faces of people they recognize.”

That happened Tuesday with Melinda Blodgett and Jade Lennon. Maifeld said Blodgett just e-mailed him telling him she is living in Massachusetts.

According to the bulletin, Blodgett, 24, of Strong and Rumford, is wanted on a 2008 warrant charging failure to appear on charge of disorderly conduct.

Maifeld said he wrote back to her, suggesting that Blodgett take care of the matter.

Regarding Lennon, 48, of Rumford, who is wanted on a 2008 warrant charging failure to appear on charge of possession of scheduled drugs, Maifeld said a tipster e-mailed him on Tuesday that she’s living in Lewiston.

He said he would advise Lewiston police Tuesday evening.

Incidentally, Rumford police got the idea from Lewiston police, who run their own crime bulletin and have had “pretty good success with it,” Maifeld said.

Based on the Lewiston bulletin, he designed Rumford’s similarly, working on the page when he could.

“It sounds like it’s doing a pretty good job,” Maifeld said of the Crime Report Bulletin.

Besides posting information and photographs of wanted suspects, Maifeld said he is posting photos and information about convicted sex offenders living in Rumford, Mexico and Dixfield on a one-per-bulletin basis.

“The chief has been wanting us to be in charge of one convicted sex offender each as part of his safe communities motto, but we haven’t been able to do that until now. So, this (bulletin) is definitely a great resource that people from the River Valley area communities will definitely want to know about.

“Plus, if we stick their names in the newspapers, people don’t really know names, but they do know faces,” Maifeld said.

Area newspapers are also running the mug shots and information as a service to the public.

“I think it kind of gives the communities more of a direct link to the Police Department. I think the community wants to know what’s going on in their community. It gives them the ability to know more. I think it’s a proactive step to educate our communities as opposed to keeping these things to ourselves,” Garbarini added.

The Crime Report Bulletin may be found at www.rumfordpd.com/bulletin.html.