PARKSVILLE — Authorities used air support to locate 250 marijuana plants valued at about $750,000 on Monday in western Boyle County after they say a witness stumbled upon a field guarded by armed men.
Sheriff Marty Elliott said his department received information over the weekend from witnesses who reported seeing two armed men guarding a marijuana crop off Whites Ridge Road. The witnesses said the men told them to leave when they approached.
Another person also reported seeing four men who appeared to be armed perched in tree stands, which are typically used for hunting, around the same location.
After surveying the area on foot, Elliott said he enlisted the help of a helicopter from the eastern branch of the state police Drug Enforcement and Special Investigations unit to locate the field and determine if it was being guarded. When police arrived, there was no one at the site, Elliott said.
Authorities found 250 plants, which Elliott said have a street value of about $3,000 each. He said it is rare to find a crop of the quantity located Monday this late in the year.
The aircraft may have spooked the people who were watching the plants, but the sheriff said there are some leads.
“We have some ideas as to who is involved with this, but it is still under investigation at this time.”
