Campbell County bomb squad defuses bomb found in Weston County

GILLETTE (WNE) — The Campbell County Sheriff's Office bomb squad was deployed to Weston County on Saturday morning to defuse a bomb that was found in an oil field equipment yard near Upton.

Two members of the four-person Campbell County Sheriff's Office bomb squad, which serves all of Northeast Wyoming, were called by Weston County law enforcement to defuse a bomb made from a propane tank, cannon fuse and timer.

Campbell County Sheriff’s Capt. Paul Pownall said deputies were successfully able to defuse the bomb one mile south of Upton on the east side of Highway 16.

Weston County Sheriff Bryan Colvard said the bomb was found in the oil field equipment yard by an employee at about 8 a.m. Saturday, but there were no oil field employees working at the site where the bomb was planted.

"I do want people to be vigilant ... If it would've worked, it would've been somewhat destructive," Colvard said, but he added that based on the evidence, it's unlikely other bombs have been placed.

He said the Weston County Sheriff's Office is investigating promising leads, including possible fingerprints found on the device itself, but it does not yet have a suspect.

"These are tough cases to work through, but we might have a chance on this one," he said.

This story was published on December 2, 2024.