01/25/2022

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service¿ (ARES¿) team of Centralia, Washington, activated following an early morning bombing on December 19. Authorities say two men planted the bomb, which blew up the ATM at a local bank. The Washington State Patrol Bomb Squad and the FBI responded to assist the Centralia Police Department (CPD) in the investigation. The Centralia ARES team staged its communications van next to the scene. The 13 ARES team members who responded to a call for assistance were paired with CPD detectives to assist in the evidence search at the crime scene.

ARES team members had been trained to perform evidence searches for the police department and were able to put those skills to work. Teams of three to five ARES members, led by a detective, gloved up and slowly searched an estimated 10,000 square feet around the bank, along nearby railroad tracks, and an adjoining field, retrieving as many potential pieces of evidence as they could find. The ARES team was released after about 1 hour. - Thanks to Bob Willey, KD7OWN, [1] Centralia, Washington, ARES Emergency Coordinator 


[1] mailto:kd7own@comcast.net

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