Urgent Search On For 700 Pounds Of Explosives Stolen In PA

Federal authorities continue to investigate with "urgency" the theft of more than 700 pounds of explosives from a Pennsylvania contracting company. On Thursday, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced a reward of $20,000 for information about the missing explosives, which in the wrong hands could cause multiple deaths and significant property damage.

UPDATE: Missing Explosives Recovered By PA Authorities

Approximately 704 pounds of explosives were taken from a contracting company in Marietta, Lancaster County. The theft of dynamite and 400 blasting caps from a pipeline worksite was reported Monday, April 16 by the Gregory General Contracting Company.

"If I were evil, I could do a lot of damage with those explosives," said Paul Worsey, an explosives expert at the Missouri University of Science and Technology.

He said the explosives would be capable of bringing down a building only by someone with an advanced knowledge of demolition and only after "a lot of work drilling holes and such."

More likely, he said, the explosives were stolen by a "rogue" construction company or "some yahoos who have no idea what they have."

Authorities said the explosives were in a locked truck trailer when workers left on Friday but when they returned Monday, they found the trailer door open and the explosives missing, according to authorities.

“The ATF, along with our law enforcement partners are working very diligently and with a sense of urgency to recover the stolen explosives and to find those responsible for the theft," Special Agent in Charge Donald Robinson. “We are asking for the public’s help in our effort to locate these explosives and to apprehend and convict those responsible.”

ATF spokeswoman Charlene Hennessy told Patch the amount of dynamite stolen could do "significant damage" if used improperly.

The theft is being investigated by the ATF, the Pennsylvania State Police and the Susquehanna Regional Police Department.

Theft and possession of stolen explosives is a federal crime that is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

Anyone with information should call the ATF hotline at 1-888-ATF-BOMB (1-888-283-2662). Tips can also be submitted online by visiting www.reportit.com. Tips will be kept confidential, the ATF said.

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