DIXFIELD — Police are requesting the public’s help to find who is responsible for stealing three vehicles in Dixfield and Carthage last weekend.

Chief Richard Pickett said the crime spree began before midnight Friday when a 2001 Mercury Villager van was stolen from a home on Weld Street in Dixfield. The keys were in the ignition at the time, he said.

The van was later found in Carthage with an empty gas tank, he said.

Police believe the thief walked a short distance to the home of David Crutchfield and rummaged through several unlocked vehicles before finding the keys a Toyota Tundra pickup and driving off. The truck was found abandoned and out of gas on Grover Bridge Road in Carthage, Pickett said.

Pickett said the thief apparently walked to a nearby home, found a 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup with the keys in the ignition and drove off in it.

When the truck owner noticed it was gone, Pickett said, he called police at around 3 a.m.

About 40 minutes later, Dixfield officers spotted the pickup on Route 142 and clocked it at 71 mph in a 50-mph zone. They gave chase and eventually found the truck abandoned on Leavitt Street in Dixfield around 3:30 a.m. It was towed to a Mexico garage.

Police are continuing their investigation and request anyone with information to call Dixfield police at 562-4517, or Maine State Police in Augusta at 624-7076 and ask for Trooper Scott Duff.

dfayen@sunjournal.com