THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, May 23, 1996 TAG: 9605230351
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY CATHERINE KOZAK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NAGS HEAD LENGTH: 32 lines
Three town police officers, two park rangers and two Air National Guard helicopters joined Wednesday in a search for marijuana plants and found one bush near Soundside Road south of Jockey's Ridge.
Nags Head Police Chief Charles Cameron said his department received a request about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday from the Dare County Sheriff's Department to explore the area where the plant had been spotted from the air.
Sheriff's deputies could not be reached for comment.
Shortly after 1 p.m., the law enforcement officials carried the three-and-a-half foot potted plant from the bushy, undeveloped south side of the road. Wielding machetes and bush axes, the men were able to zero in on the area with the assistance of the low-flying helicopters.
Cameron said the plant - partially planted in the ground and caged to prevent nibbling by wildlife - had been cultivated. He said it was found in a 8-foot by 8-foot clearing about 125 yards south of Soundside Road. He said he didn't know if the plant was on public or private land.
Once dried, the plant would yield ``maybe one-and-a-half, two ounces, at most,'' the chief said.
The plant will be photographed and placed in the Nags Head Police evidence room. The surrounding area will be searched for additional plants, police said.
No one was arrested, and Cameron said as of Tuesday there were no suspects.
``We'll assign investigators and canvass the area in the next couple of days,'' Cameron said. ``We'll see what turns up.'' by CNB