LA PINE, Ore. -- A La Pine man out pulling weeds Friday morning found something else entirely -- a pair of pipe bombs -- prompting closure of their neighborhood street and a call-out of the Oregon State Police bomb squad to safely destroy the two objects.
Clayton Musgrove told KTVZ.COM he called 911 after his father, Ray Musgrove, told him he’d found the two devices on their property, just off Green Forest Road, near Boundary Road and BLM property about a half-mile to the west.
“It looked suspicious, and he told me about it,” Musgrove said.
Deputies were dispatched around 10:15 a.m. and found one PVC pipe bomb about 15 feet from the road, near a cinder block and wooden fence, and another, metal can-type pipe bomb near the driveway, about four feet from the road, said Sgt. Tim Leak.
Deputies searched the neighborhood and didn’t find any other devices, Leak said.
The scene was secured and traffic blocked on the road for several hours, until the OSP bomb disposal unit could arrive. Musgrove said they were told to stay in their home until the bomb squad arrived from Medford, but did not have to leave, since the objects were about 100 feet from their house.
The bomb squad, wearing their protective gear, destroyed both devices at the scene, Leak said.
“It was really interesting,” Musgrove said after they were given the all-clear about 3 p.m.
“They blocked the road for this one block,” he said. “We didn’t see much going on, other than a deputy at the end of the street.”
“It was just a small bang when they actually detonated it,” he said, adding that he was told at least one of the objects was “a fake pipe bomb -- it had dirt in it.”
Leak reminded the public to treat any suspicious objects with care and not pick them up or touch them, as they could potentially explode and cause injury.
As the investigation continues, anyone with information about the incident was asked to contact the sheriff’s office at (541) 693-6911.
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