Effingham police report cites K9 successes, increased enforcement on Pine River Road

At the Selectboard meeting, the police chief delivered a monthly report that he said showed an active period for the department and praised K9 work that located missing people.

The chief reported that March included 217 calls for service with one arrest and six offense reports; April had 267 calls, eight arrests and nine offense reports. He said the department conducted five K9 deployments over the two months, including three track searches in Effingham and one mutual‑aid track to Wakefield. “So we’ll call it a success,” the chief said of the K9 work, and added, “We would have never found her if it wasn't for the dog.”

The chief described the K9 deployments in more detail: one deployment was to locate a missing 10‑year‑old (located during tracking), another located a missing juvenile on Stevens Road, and a third found a woman in a mental‑health crisis on Green Mountain. He also noted that one K9 deployment was executed as a drug search and another in support of a community event.

Officials said Pine River Road is now fully paved and open and that the town should expect an “extremely heavy police presence” there in the near term as officers monitor speeds and roadway safety. The chief recommended drivers exercise caution where the shoulder drops off and flagged that temporary shouldering creates a hazard for pulled‑over vehicles.

The Selectboard did not take formal action on the report but thanked the chief for the update and for the K9 unit’s work. The board agreed to follow up on traffic‑control measures as paving-related traffic increases.