Update: The hiker was reportedly found about noontime Wednesday.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Northern Berkshire first-responders are looking for a self-reported missing hiker on Mount Greylock State Reservation.

State Police Sgt. Michael O'Neil said a call was first received from the hiker around 2 a.m. Wednesday.

 

"Overnight he called 911 saying he was essentially lost," O'Neil said. "He was not expressing any issues like he was injured. He was just lost in the woods. He got turned around." 

 

O'Neil said the hiker is a 38 and from eastern part of the state and was unprepared for an extended hike. 

 

"I would say he is not prepared for an extended hike that is why we are out in force now," he said. "Weather is on our side. What is not is he is unprepared."

 

Through the three 911 calls the hiker made, they were able to "ping" his phone and believe he is on the Bellows Pipe Trail working north toward where a staging area was set up in the Notch Road parking area.

 

North Adams Fire, Northern Berkshire EMS, state police, Department of Conservation and Recreation personnel, and Berkshire Mountain Search and Rescue had been on the scene since about 5 a.m. O'Neil said currently they are checking trails and various outlets.

 

At the moment it is believed that his cell phone is dead or dying and they have been unable to communicate.

 

"We can't read this guy's mind and we don't know. He could have gone back to where he started off," O'Neil said. "We are just checking the general area and all of the typical places where people pop out." 

 

O’Neil said a K-9 has recently been deployed toward Bellows Pipe Trail and a helicopter has been dispatched.

 

"We just have the helicopter working this side of the ridge between the reservoir and the meadows," he said. "We have some issues with the canopy where the infrared can't see past. It is thick."

 

O'Neill asked all hikers and others using the mountain to keep an eye out for the hiker.

 

"If people are coming up to hike just keep on the lookout for a 38-year-old male unprepared," he said.

 

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — A city man was injured Tuesday when the truck he was operating collided with a house on Elm Street. 

 

Police say Alexander Colvin, 26, was westbound in the 240 block of Elm when he suffered a medical emergency at about 2 p.m. His 2007 Ford pickup left the road and to the right and collided with the front porch of 233 Elm St., causing extensive damage to both the home and vehicle.

 

Colvin was transported to Berkshire Medical Center with what is believed to be non-life threatening injuries. 

 

There were no other persons involved. Elm between Holmes Road and Ontario Street was closed to traffic for approximately two hours for the investigation and clean up.

 

Anyone with additional information about this crash is asked to contact Officer Gallagher of the Traffic Unit at 413-448-9700, Ext. 549.

 

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Police on Saturday night were investigating whether someone had shot at a house on Liberty Street. 

 

Neighbors in the area called 911 around 10 p.m. to report hearing several shots. Police blocked off the street at the corner of North Holden for more than an hour and were reportedly looking for a vehicle that may have been at the scene. 

 

While officers declined to confirm a shooting, citing an active investigation, their focus appeared to be the home of Raymond Moore, a leading voice in the local Black Lives Matter movement. 

 

Moore said he didn't hear anything and was first alerted when officers arrived and the family could see flashlights shining through their windows. 

 

Moore emailed iBerkshires on Sunday morning and said he had heard what sounded like gunshots while upstairs. When he went downstairs, the police were already at his door. 

 

No one was injured but Moore said he's been getting threats about the BLM protests — one is scheduled for Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. — and his calls for the resignation of City Councilor Robert Moulton Jr., whose comments last week about BLM being terrorist group and trivializing of COVID-19 has sparked denouncements from his colleagues on the council and School Committee. Moulton has already had to resign from his post as president of the local ambulance service because of his remarks.  

 

The local Black Lives Matter group is planning protests of City Council meetings until Moulton steps down. The first rally is at 3 p.m. at City Hall on Tuesday. Both the School Committee and council will be meeting that day to vote on resolutions of censure against the six-term councilor. 

 

Moore on Saturday night said threats weren't going to stop the protests. 

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Police Department is investigating a vandalism incident at East Lawn Cemetery, Lt. Michael Ziemba said on Monday evening.

 

Visitors to the cemetery on Saturday discovered that a couple of dozen American flags on the graves of veterans and at least one member of the town's fire district were removed and the wooden flag sticks left behind.

 

"We are fairly confident based on the number of flags and the short time frame (Friday night) that this is not an animal," Zimeba wrote in response to questions about the incident.

 

"We have no motive, and there have not been any similar incidents in other cemeteries."

 

Ziemba said the WPD routinely checks on the town's cemeteries at night.

 

The department would like to hear from anyone "who may have seen something suspicious or who has any information about this incident," Ziemba said.

 

According to Massachusetts General Law, removal of "a tomb, monument, gravestone, American flag, veteran's grave marker, metal plaque, veteran's commemorative flag holder, commemorative flag holder representing service in a police or fire department, veteran's flag holder," is punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000.

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — A local woman was killed in a motorcycle accident Saturday afternoon on Route 2. 

 

The accident occurred about 5 p.m. near the Florida town line. 

 

According to a release from the Berkshire district attorney's office, Daryl Rougeau, 42, of the town of Florida, lost control of the 2009 Harley Davidson motorcycle he was operating about one half-mile east of the Hairpin Turn. His passenger, Kristin Rougeau, 38, also of Florida, died after being ejected from the motorcycle. She was pronounced dead on the scene by emergency medical personnel. 

 

Daryl Rougeau was taken by ambulance to Berkshire Medical Center's satellite emergency facility in North Adams. Hospital personnel treated his injuries and released him.

 

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Westfield took custody of the body to perform an autopsy. The investigation into the collision is ongoing.

 

Berkshire State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Berkshire District Attorney's Office, North Adams Police, Clarksburg Police, State Police Troop B,  State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Section, State Police Crime Scene Service Section, and the Florida Volunteer Fire Department responded to the scene.

 

Route 2 was closed from West Shaft Road to the town line for several hours Saturday night.