Jaffrey police are investigating grafitti found on Mount Monadnock trails last week, according to Jaffrey Police Chief Todd Muilenberg.
Park officials notified police on June 16 of several pieces of vandalism on the mountain, Muilenberg said Monday. Police are following up on a potential lead, but have not yet identified the person responsible, he said.
John Webber of New Ipswich, who hikes the mountain once a week, said he reported the tagging to park officials. He said he’s seen litter left on the mountain to a degree that he usually only sees during the height of foliage season when there are the biggest crowds. He’s been seeing a lot more company on his early weekday hikes than is typical, he said, likely due to people looking for something to do while social distancing, or who have more flexible schedules while working at home.
“It’s coincidental, and I don’t know if it’s truly related [to the coronavirus] or not, but I’ve been climbing there since I was a kid, and this is the first time I remember seeing painted graffiti,” Webber said. He said he saw graffiti for the first time a week ago, and reported it. While that vandalism had been cleaned, new tags had gone up when he hiked again on Friday. He spotted spray-painted flowers, names, and a cardinal.
“There are a lot of people who aren’t regular hikers, and might not understand what the right protocol is. But I don’t know how you can imagine that’s an OK thing to do,” Webber said. “It’s a great resource, and it belongs to everyone, but we need to take care of it.”