Meth lab explosion leaves suspect burned
By Nick Hiltunen
Published in News on May 31, 2010 1:46 PM
Wayne County authorities are searching for a man with burns on his body who ran out of a mobile home after a methamphetamine lab exploded just outside of Goldsboro, Sheriff Carey Winders said early today.
Lawmen found a working meth lab inside a home in the 1300 block of Stevens Mill Road early on Sunday morning, Winders said.
Authorities were alerted to the explosion after 3 a.m. on Sunday, and the Mar Mac Volunteer Fire Department and State Bureau of Investigation responded along with the Sheriff's Office, Winders said.
"We called the (SBI) team out with our guys, and they stayed there until roughly 5 or 6 o'clock yesterday," Winders said.
When authorities arrived, an occupant of the home was seen running out of the single-wide trailer with burns on his skin.
"One person was living there, and a subject (ran) out, and he did have burn marks on him," Winders said. "We don't know how severe those burns may be, but there may be a possibility that they could get infected if he is not treated.
"We couldn't find him. We don't know where he's at -- he ran out and left," Winders said.
Winders confirmed that the meth operation was "an operational lab," and that there was methamphetamine inside, but Winders said he did not know how much.
Cpl. Chris Peedin, the methamphetamine specialist with the Sheriff's Office, was not available for comment this morning.
Peedin had been up for many hours working the case, along with Mar Mac and SBI officials, Winders said.