State police said the device was located in a remote, wooded area, where there are not any occupied structures nearby. A passerby located the metal pipe, which was around four inches long and three-fourths of an inch in diameter, with threaded end caps along the roadway.
Members of the state police’s Hazardous Device and Explosive Section dismantled the device and rendered it inoperable. As it remains almost entirely intact, its components will be forensically tested to potentially identify the person(s) responsible for its assembly.
“This appears to be an isolated incident and is not believed to be associated with any known crime trend,” state police said.
The incident remains under investigation at this time. Anyone with information regarding the device is asked to contact the Ridgway-based state police at 814-776-6136.