Published: August 28, 2009 09:23 am      

Wild pot plants get a burn

It was a most unusual bonfire after Garvin County authorities were clued into the fact more than 1,600 marijuana plants were growing wild near Maysville.

Found in a remote area southwest of Maysville, deputies said this week the plants were placed in a pit and disposed of by way of fire.

Adding to this unusual find was an estimated street value in the six figure range.

“These were some plants that were still growing wild,” said Lt. Travis Crawford of the Garvin County Sheriff’s Department. They were growing on the bank of Rush Creek or around some trees on farm land.”

There the wild growing marijuana simply blended in and remained unnoticed until recently when it was discovered by the landowner, who was unaware of the plant’s presence.

The wild growing marijuana was actually found in a couple of different locations about one-quarter mile apart.

“They were found in two spots or what we call patches,” Crawford said. “One patch had about 600 plants and the other had at least 900 to 1,000 plants,” he said.

“The average height of the plants was about 6 feet. A handful were 11 to 12 feet tall.”

Once found, the plants were confiscated and destroyed by county deputies, who used diesel fuel to accelerate the disposal process.

Crawford said the wild growing plants likely came from previous marijuana cultivation operations shut down in that area some time ago.

“We have made arrests there in the past,” he said.

“Over time the seeds from previous cultivations began to grow on their own.”

The estimated value of the plants is about $500,000, which Crawford acknowledged is on the low end.

Each plant yields about one pound of marijuana product with a street value of between $400 and $600 per pound, he said.

The sheriff’s office also reported the remains of a car stolen from Oklahoma City was found recently after it had been intentionally set on fire west of the Paoli exit on Interstate 35. Deputies said a gasoline can was found in the vehicle.

Although not believed to be connected, a few bales of hay on fire had to be extinguished south of the same interstate exit.