GREENLAND, N.H. (WHDH) - Police have launched an investigation into the theft of a “thin blue line” flag that had been put up on an Interstate 95 overpass in Greenland, New Hampshire in honor of a N.H. state police trooper who died in a crash.
Ssgt. Jesse Sherrill was working a paving project detail on I-95 northbound near Exit 3 in Portsmouth around 12:30 a.m. on Oct. 28 when a tractor-trailer struck his state police cruiser, according to N.H. State Police Col. Nathan Noyes.
Emergency crews responded to the scene and Sherrill was transported to Portsmouth Regional Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A Greenland resident reached out to the local police department to offer his large “thin blue line” flag for the officers to display on an overpass fence.
Greenland police retrieved the flag and purchased special clamps to hold it in place.
They stood by the flag saluting Sherrill’s body during an escort to a funeral home.
Police say they planned to leave the flag in place until after Sherrill’s celebration of life on Wednesday but that someone had stolen the flag sometime between 5 and 11 p.m. Monday.
“This isn’t just about a stolen flag … it’s about our shared loss and community unity,” Greenland police wrote on Facebook.
Anyone who may have seen or heard anything is asked to call Greenland police at 603-431-4624.
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