ROWLEY — Acting Police Chief Stephen May reports that the Rowley Police Department and the Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad responded Thursday after explosives were found buried in a heavily forested area off of Route 1.
On Thursday, Sept. 19, at approximately 2:30 p.m., Rowley Police were contacted by a man who was using a metal detector when he discovered a box of TNT and a small amount of plastic explosives buried in a metal container in the state-owned forest near the Newbury town line.
The box and the explosives appeared to have been in the ground for an undetermined number of years.
The Massachusetts State Police Bomb Squad was called in, and safely destroyed the explosives with a series of three blasts. The U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the FBI were also contacted and responded to the scene.
The Rowley Fire Department and Action Ambulance also assisted by standing by while the explosives were dealt with.
Due to the apparent age of the explosives and the amount of time they had been buried, no further investigative efforts are expected.
No homes were evacuated during the incident because the box was found in a remote part of town far away from any residences or businesses.
