UNION CREEK, Ore. (KMTR) -- Investigators say John Scharer was in the middle of watering his marijuana plants when they arrested him Saturday afternoon.
Dint says 63-year-old Scharer had grown more than 70 pot plants on Bureau of Land Management property, located in Union Creek drainage just west of Riddle.
They say Scharer was a transient and not dangerous, but this is not always the case. Much bigger pot operations run by drug cartels pose a danger to hunters. They're often guarded and booby-trapped and officials say hunters should be on the lookout.
“A lot of times there will be an armed person that's staying there to watch the grow, especially this time of year when it's time to start to process it,” say Lieutenant Curt Strickland of the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team. “So they [hunters] need to be concerned if they see anything like a tent, camouflaged tarps, just signs that someone's living deep into the woods where you wouldn't normally see anybody.”
He says to also watch for black PVS pipe, garden tools and trash.
Lieutenant Strickland says if you do wander onto a grow site, try to note your location but leave as quickly as you can and, of course, report it.
Due to the long summer, Lieutenant Strickland says marijuana growers are leaving their plants out later than usual. Hunters have a much higher risk of running into grow sites this year than they have in previous years.
