LIVERMORE FALLS — Police are investigating the theft of a truck from the Livermore Falls Wastewater Treatment Plant that was recovered Thursday morning near the Wilton Wastewater Treatment Plant.

When Livermore Falls plant operator Thomas Mitchell came to work about 6 a.m. Thursday, he noticed the 2005 GMC pickup owned by the department was missing. He then noticed a slightly opened door going into the plant, he said at the Wilton scene.

Police suspect someone may have climbed the 8-foot fence surrounding the plant or squeezed through the gate of the Foundry Road facility, said Lt. Thomas Gould of the Livermore Falls Police Department. Once inside, the suspect or suspects broke a couple windows to get into the plant where they found the truck keys, stole a television and camera and did some minor damage inside, he said. They apparently used the door to leave and left it partially open.

Cans of yellow spray paint were inside the truck and the town seals on the doors were spray-painted. A light and radio antenna from the roof were removed, Gould said. The truck was driven to Wilton and was left in the yard of Collins Collision Repair on Davis Court, diagonally across from the Wilton plant.

When Bryan Knowles came to work at the Collins shop at about 8:45 a.m., he noticed the truck parked near the woods, close to an embankment going down into Wilson Stream. He called Wilton police to report the out-of-place municipal vehicle, he said.

Wilton police identified the vehicle through the license plates and then helped with a neighborhood canvas of the area, Wilton police Chief Dennis Brown said.

After the suspect or suspects drove to the Wilton site, they apparently used the rest of the paint to add graffiti and spray more of the vehicle, Gould said.

Police said they have some suspects and were able to get fingerprints off the paint cans. These are being sent to the state crime lab, he added. He declined to comment on why the truck may have been left at this site.

The truck received some damage to the front bumper. An estimate of damage is being worked on, he said.

Purchased new by the department, the truck has 20,000 miles on it, Mitchell said.

It was towed from the Wilton scene by Allie Bonds Autobody of East Livermore.

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