Hedley couple finds explosive near home

An investigation is ongoing after two Hedley residents turned over an explosive compound to local authorities.

Melody Johnson and Santiago Rodriguez found a one-pound package of explosive Detagel in an abandoned semi-trailer near their home in Hedley, according to Donley County Sheriff Butch Blackburn. The couple brought the explosive to the sheriff’s office last Friday.

Officers took the Detagel to the old Clarendon landfill where it was kept under guard by a deputy.

Assistance was called in from Texas Ranger Gary Henderson and federal ATF agents from Lubbock. The gel was turned over to Edward Smith of the Amarillo Police Department’s bomb squad for safekeeping.

“Without a detonator, the stuff is relatively safe,” Blackburn said. “But a build up of static electricity or any electric charge could set it off.”

Detagel is an industrial explosive used in gravel pits, oil well drilling, and other industrial uses, Blackburn said. It is a federal crime to possess the explosive without a license.

“We don’t believe any more of the stuff is in Donley County,” he said. “We think we’ve found the source was in Hall County, and we have reason to believe there is more of it in Hall County.”

Citizens should contact authorities immediately if they come across something they believe to be an explosive or something marked as such.

“Call us and do not touch it,” Blackburn said.