2005-70
NEWS RELEASE:   December 29, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FROM:   The Kansas Highway Patrol
CONTACT:   LT John Eichkorn 785-296-6800

MISSING EXPLOSIVE DEVICE LOCATED BY KDOT

An oilfield perforator that was reported missing earlier this week has been located by a Kansas Department of Transportation paint crew and returned to the owner. A private company was transporting the explosive device from Hutchinson to Moline when it was lost on Dec. 27. The KDOT crew found the device at about 9 a.m., Dec. 27 on a ramp from the K-96 bypass to eastbound US-50, about a mile west of South Hutchinson.

The KDOT crew located the device and brought it back to a shop building. Crew members did not discard it because they thought someone might claim it. There were no identifying words or lettering on the device that indicated it contained explosives or to whom it belonged.

The company that owned the device reported it missing on Dec. 28. Members of the Kansas Highway Patrol, along with local sheriff and police departments, searched a 146-mile route from Hutchinson to Moline looking for the device.
A couple members of the KDOT paint crew saw a story about the search on a Wichita television newscast and recognized the missing device. Crew members immediately called their superintendent, who called 911. The Hutchinson Police Department responded to the call. A representative of the company also responded and defused the device.

The Kansas Highway Patrol and KDOT appreciate the assistance provided by local agencies and the media in helping to locate this potentially dangerous item. Our primary concern and focus has been for personal and public safety. Everyone involved in trying to locate the perforator is pleased that it was returned and no one was harmed.