image description
An image of missing person Fae Morgana Barbone provided by the Williamstown Police Department.

Authorities Search in Williamstown for Missing Eastern Mass Resident

Staff ReportsiBerkshires
Print Story | Email Story
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Police are asking anyone with information about a missing eastern Massachusetts resident to contact the dispatch center at 413-458-5733.
 
On Tuesday morning, Williamstown Police received a report of a suspicious vehicle parked near the end of Berlin Road, a hiking area near the New York State Line, according to a news release from the WPD on Wednesday.
 
Police determined the vehicle was registered to Fae Morgana Barbone, a missing person from the Abington/Hanson area on the South Shore, the release said. 
 
"This person had been reported as missing several days earlier with unconfirmed sightings in North Adams and the Carolinas and a confirmed interaction with law enforcement in the state of Maine," WPD said.
 
Williamstown Police used its K-9 unit and drone surveillance to search the area, they said.
 
As of 8 a.m. Wednesday morning, the search continued.
 
Williamstown Police asked the public to avoid the area at the end of Berlin Road so as not to interfere with authorities.
 
According to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, Barbone was reported missing to Abington Police. Her car, a black 2019 Ford Festiva coupe with license plate 259TB, was reported on a street in Augusta, Maine, on March 7. She was caught on security camera footage at an ATM on March 6.
 
Barbone is described as 40 years old and white, standing 6-foot-2 with brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen wearing a light blue denim jacket, purple sweat shirt, black leggings and brown shoes. There is a peace sign tattoo on the back of her neck. 
 
The search team included the New York and Massachusetts State Police, Massachusetts Environmental Police and the New York Environmental Conservation Police, according to the news release. The WPD wanted to make local residents aware of the increased presence of the outside agencies during the search.

Tags: missing persons,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Board of Health Looks to Regulate Nitrous Oxide Sales

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The Board of Health last week agreed to look into drafting a local ordinance that would regulate the sale of nitrous oxide.
 
Resident Danielle Luchi raised the issue, telling the board she recently learned a local retailer was selling large containers of the compound, which has legitimate medical and culinary uses but also is used as a recreational drug.
 
The nitrous oxide (N2O) canisters are widely marketed as "whippets," a reference to the compound's use in creating whipped cream. Also called "laughing gas" for its medical use for pain relief and sedation, N2O is also used recreationally — and illegally — to achieve feelings of euphoria and relaxation, sometimes with tragic consequences.
 
A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association earlier this year found that, "from 2010 to 2023, there was a total of 1,240 deaths attributable to nitrous oxide poisoning among people aged 15 to 74 years in the U.S."
 
"Nitrous oxide is a drug," Luchi told the board at its Tuesday morning meeting. "Kids are getting high from it. They're dying in their cars."
 
To combat the issue, the city of Northampton passed an ordinance that went into effect in June of this year.
 
"Under the new policy … the sale of [nitrous oxide] is prohibited in all retail establishments in Northampton, with the exception of licensed kitchen supply stores and medical supply stores," according to Northampton's website. "The regulation also limits sales to individuals 21 years of age and older and requires businesses to verify age using a valid government-issued photo ID."
 
View Full Story

More Williamstown Stories