293 Shutdown In Manchester As State Police Search For Woman And Child

HOOKSETT, NH - New Hampshire State Police dispatchers took a call from a woman reporting she had come from a party where she had allegedly been drinking and was driving north on I-93 in Salem Monday.

State police radio broadcasts beginning at about 6:40 p.m. indicated the woman was refusing to pull over as directed by the dispatchers. She continued speaking to the dispatchers saying she should not be driving.

Dispatchers relayed information to Troopers responding to the approximate locations provided by cell phone data.

As Troopers rushed to I-93 they were advised the woman told dispatchers she had a child in her car that was in a car seat. The caller advised she was driving a dark-colored Honda, and dispatchers asked her again to pull over according to radio broadcasts.

The woman was advised to put her hazard lights on so that troopers could spot her, but she refused. Cell phone data indicated she was continuing to travel on I-93 and continuing to refuse to pull over.

The driver merged on 293 north from I-93 traveling by the Mall of New Hampshire, Brown Avenue, and advised she was going over a bridge and then disconnected and was no longer able to be tracked by dispatchers.

State police pulled over a vehicle matching the description and immediately realized it was not the vehicle. A decision was made to shut down 293 North in the area just south of Exit 6 near the Amoskeag bridge.

The highway being shut down gave troopers the ability to travel between the stopped vehicles searching for the woman and child. After not being able to locate the vehicle in the stopped traffic, route 293 North was reopened after about 15 minutes.

A short time later a phone “ping” came in indicating the vehicle was on I-93 passing Exit 11. Troopers from Troop B and Troop D rushed to the area.

A short time later a vehicle was located in the right breakdown lane against the guardrail just North of the Hooksett rest area.

The vehicle was a grey Audi and did not match the description the driver had been giving. Troopers made contact with the woman in the vehicle and through investigation determined the Audi was the vehicle the woman had been calling from.

The vehicle had an infant seat in the backseat but the seat was empty. The woman according to radio broadcasts insisted she had a child in the car, and believed it was there even though troopers verified there was no child.

The vehicle was registered out of Brooklyn New York according to dispatchers, and the name of the woman was verified with police departments outside of the state of New Hampshire.

A thorough investigation indicated the woman did not have a child with her and had not had a child with her. This information was verified by several sources and it was determined that the woman appeared to be suffering from a mental health issue.

New Hampshire State Police transported the woman to a local facility for a mental health evaluation and treatment.

No other information on the identity of the woman is anticipated, and it should be stressed authorities were able to verify with credible information from several sources there was not a child with the woman.

©Jeffrey Hastings www.frameofmindphoto.com/news