Meth lab found on Hopkins hillside

HOPKINS, Mich. (WOOD) - The West Michigan Enforcement Team (WEMET) has confiscated a "one pot" methamphetamine lab after the chemicals were found on a hillside near Hopkins.

Patricia Kelsey and her grandchildren were skating at around 4 p.m. Monday on a pond near 122nd Avenue and 22nd Street.

They noticed a trash bag near a marsh next to the road.

"Thought it was a dead deer. We have a lot of trash dumped here, dead animals and stuff," she told 24 Hour News 8.

She opened the bag and a plume of smoke and other chemicals exited the bag. She called 911 and a hazardous materials team came to investigate.

WEMET task force members took samples of the meth materials that included two-liter bottles, tubes, plastic canisters and store-bought chemicals -- before disposing of the lab in a hazmat waste site. Police say a receipt left among the ingredients may lead to a suspect.

Police say they have seen a dramatic increase in mobile meth lab dump sites. Ten have already been discovered this year in Allegan County, compared to three dump sites all of last year. The economy is playing a roll, police say, as well as repeat offenders.

Lt. John Porter, a State Police Task Force commander says, "We made a big push a couple of years ago when we had a big problem. We sent a lot of these people to prison and now they're starting to come out. They're still addicted to the drug and they're going back to their old habits."

24 Hour News 8's Marc Thompson contributed to this report