Crime & Safety

Grandmother 'Frantic' Over Couple on the Run

Helen Nicholson is growing so frantic over the search for the missing Plaistow, N.H., couple accused of beating her grandson, she went out searching herself Sunday afternoon.

A Plaistow, NH couple charged with remain on the run from police and the search has moved into the Merrimack Valley.

Lowell Police have received reports of a couple matching the desciption of Jessica Linscott and Roland Dow in area of Rt. 495 and Woburn Street, according to reports published on Twitter by the Lowell Sun.

According to the reports, the woman was wearing a pink coat with her face covered.

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The 3-year-old's grandmother is Helen Nicholson, of Melrose, Mass. She told WMUR.com that she's "frantic."

"They both need to pay for this and they need to pay big. This is not a small case," Nicholson told WMUR. "They tried to kill my grandson."

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Over the weekend, police received tips that Linscott, 23—the mother of the boy—and her boyfriend Dow, 27, were recently at gas stations and coffee shops in the North Shore part of Massachusetts.

A police report Sunday said they may be trying to make their way to Maine in blue Dodge minivan with a New Hampshire license plate numbered 2844129.

Rockingham County Attorney Jim Reams said Monday police are receiving more and more tips on their whereabouts.

MyFoxBoston.com reported Monday that Linscott may have dyed her hair black while on the run.

Dow is charged with first- and second-degree assault for allegedly hitting the child in the head and burning his fingers and wrist.

The boy, James, reportedly suffered a head injury that impaired his vision. 

Police said they discovered the boy's injuries after he was treated at Exeter Hospital last week.

James is in now stable condition at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center in Lebanon, NH.

Reams has demanded that Dow and Linscott turn themselves in.

"No matter where you go, (police) are going to find you," Reams said at a recent news conference. "Surrender yourselves."

Linscott is charged with child endangement.

Reams said the pair are likely traveling in a car and may have people helping them avoid capture. He said he has no reason to believe Dow is holding Linscott against her will.

If you have any information on the couple's whereabouts or have spotted the couple, contact the Lowell Police Department at 978-937-3200 or the Tewksbury Police at 978-640-4381.


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