Sheriff’s Dept. destroys marijuana plants found in Rockholds

Whitley County Sheriff’s Dept. Chief Deputy K.Y. Fuson cuts some small marijuana in a plot police discovered Thursday in Rockholds. Authorities found 27 plants in total.

Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell and three of his deputies spent nearly five hours roaming through the backwoods in three areas of the county searching for marijuana plants Thursday and didn’t come away empty handed.

In a pot patch off Tye’s Ferry Road in the Rockholds community, sheriff’s deputies discovered 27 marijuana plants in the woods. 12 of the plants were still alive but 15 had already withered and died.

At full maturity, the 12 living plants would have been worth $24,000, Harrell said.

He said that the search efforts are the result of citizen complaints and tips, which are increasing.

"The people are getting more involved in helping law enforcement in combating drug trafficking," Harrell noted. "I think it is really encouraging. Whenever people do this, they have trust in law enforcement. We are receiving more good tips. I hope the public keeps it up."

Harrell said that the summer drought has done part of law enforcement’s work for them killing off several plants, but it is still prime marijuana growing season.

"As you saw today there were a lot of plants that just wilted away. A third of the plants we found today were already gone," he added.

Most growers won’t harvest their plants until this fall.

Harrell said many growers wait until after the first frost to harvest their crop mistakenly believing that this will increase the THC content in the plants. THC is the chemical in the plant, which produces the euphoric effect when it is smoked or consumed.

Trying to spot a marijuana plant hidden in the woods is harder than you might think.

During one instance, one deputy told another there was a marijuana plant next to him, and to stretch out his right hand.
The second deputy did and his hand passed over the top of the plant before he finally saw it.

While searching all three areas Thursday, deputies had to cross streams and ditches, wade through briars and watch out for snakes, poison ivy and ticks as they searched for open spots in the woods with sunlight shining through where marijuana would possibly be growing.

About 10 a.m., deputies left the Whitley County Courthouse searching an area off of Highway 904 in the Verne community where a large marijuana patch was believed to be hidden.

Two deputies left on foot going through one section of a woods before Harrell and another deputies attempted to drive part of the way up a hill and then hiked to the top and meet up with the other two deputies.

After deputies spent several minutes looking for any signs of a marijuana patch, such as trails, streams and areas open to sunlight, they hiked back down the hill and contacted a Kentucky State Police helicopter, which is expected to fly over the area searching for the marijuana plants.

Deputies then traveled to Tye’s Ferry Road and hiked into the woods before finding the marijuana plants in various stages from dried up and dead to alive and nearly five feet tall. Deputies used machetes to chop down the plants near their bases.

The marijuana plants in Rockholds were hidden amongst some other tall weeds several minutes hike through a wooded area.

Officers also found various things the marijuana growers used in their operation from mousetraps to keep rodents away from the plants to Miracle Grow, other fertilizer and various jugs to haul water from a nearby stream to water the plants.

One old jug had apparently been recycled from a prior use and had the words, "Olivia’s Pop Tabs" written on the side with a black marker.

Deputies gathered some of the growing paraphernalia for evidence and punched holes in the remaining jugs to keep marijuana growers from using them again.

Deputies then hiked back to their vehicles and took in a brief lunch before going to their third target of the day, which was a suspected marijuana patch off McNeil-Corn Creek Road.

Officers traveled through various sections of the woods, but were unable to find any signs of marijuana growth despite finding a pond nearby and some openings in the woods where sunlight could have gotten to growing plants.

Harrell said that he feels marijuana cultivation is making a resurgence locally.

"We are getting more complaints on this on it. It has never gone out of style. It has just gone down," he added.
So far no arrests have been made.

Those taking part in the search included: Harrell, Chief Deputy K.Y. Fuson, Detective Tim Baker and Deputy Cody Harrell.