Nantucket Police Department detectives are investigating a handful of reports about a peeping Tom and suspicious individuals on private property near the downtown area over the past six months, including the most recent incident which occurred Monday night on New Street.
A woman there called police after her neighbors informed her that they spotted a man peering into her side window around 5:50 p.m. It was dark and snow was falling at the time, she said. When her neighbors approached the man, “he ran away into his car and left.”
The suspect was believed to be driving a red van. Police officers who responded to the scene Monday evening also discovered the basement window screen had been dislodged, the woman said.
“My concern is whether this person is a danger? A creep? And can we figure out who it is?” the woman told the Current.
Nantucket Police Lieutenant Angus MacVicar said the department had received “a handful” of reports going back to late August regarding peeping Toms or suspicious individuals in the downtown area near New Street.
“They’re often described as a peeping Tom, but we say suspicious person because who knows what they’re up to, and we don’t want to be dismissive as to what they’re doing,” Lt. MacVicar said. “There’s a handful of cases, not a dozen, but a handful going back to August in this general, geographical area. Some have descriptions of a potential person of interest, but they don’t match each other, not even close. So we’re trying to see if they’re connected. Nothing has been stolen, nothing has been broken into, there’s been no attempt at a break-in, and no larceny. But because of this latest one and the others, we’re paying closer attention and we’re trying to do our due diligence to determine who this person is.”
Since the woman shared the information regarding the “unidentified man who has been lurking at my window and others in the neighborhood” on the Nantucket Year Round Community Facebook group, she said a number of people have reached out to her with information and videos from their home security cameras to help identify the person. Others have offered to help install lights and other security measures at her home.
