Authorities in Casper, Wyo., evacuated several city and government garages Tuesday after they found bomb-making material in a motor home connected to the two men wanted in last month's police shootout in Wilmington, Ohio.
Piece by piece, the vehicle was taken apart by a bomb squad from the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). They took no chances, considering the militia background of brothers Chevie Kehoe, 24, and Cheyne Kehoe, 20, said Rick Price, a spokesman with the Casper Fire Department.
Authorities said the motor home was registered to Chevie Kehoe's wife and the brothers had been in it.
''The ATF dismantled the RV to make sure there were no booby traps,'' Mr. Price said. ''They basically skinned the RV.''
ATF agents found bomb-making material, but there were no bombs or detonating devices found in the search, said David Lundahl of the fire department.
The motor home was discovered Friday in Natrona County, parked under an Interstate 25 underpass. It may have been there up to a week, Mr. Price said.
''Wyoming is pretty much spread wide open, and a car could be parked 15 minutes out of town and not be discovered for days,'' said Mr. Lundahl.
The vehicle was towed to the highway department's garage in Casper. Police were unable to get a search warrant until Monday to get into the motor home, Mr. Lundahl said.
Authorities conducted their first search of the vehicle at 3:30 p.m. Monday (MST) and discovered bomb making material. They quickly backed out of the motor home. Operating under a ''worst-case scenario,'' the city's fire department evacuated the area where the motor home was being kept, Mr. Price said.
''We had to evacuate the city garages, the city of Casper's wastewater-treatment plant, Casper Concrete (a business across the street from the motor home), those highway garages and all employees,'' said Mr. Price.
ATF bomb specialists were called in and arrived in Wyoming's second-largest city about 12:30 p.m. Tuesday. The FBI and the Ohio State Highway Patrol also arrived Tuesday, Mr. Lundahl said.
After obtaining the second search warrant, ATF officials started their work about 2 p.m., and the evacuated area was deemed safe again at 4:30 p.m.
The motor home was towed to the single-level garage where all city maintenance dump trucks and vehicles are stored. The interstate where it was found, I-25, runs north-south, through Denver and the entire state of Wyoming. Casper is a city of about 59,000 residents in a state of about 200,000 - the least-populated state in the country.
The Kehoe brothers are from Colville, Wash., about 70 miles north of Spokane.
Robert Gumm, Chevie Kehoe's father-in-law, said he's not surprised the Kehoes are still on the run. ''They're survivalists,'' he said. He's worried that his daughter might be with them.
He hasn't seen Karena Gumm - his 23-year-old daughter - or her three children in months, he said. She's the type of person who would have called by now - ''if it was up to her.''
Chevie and Cheyne are members of the white-separatist group Aryan Nations and the focus of a nationwide manhunt. Police think they fled Ohio with their wives and four children.
The Office of Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois describes the Aryan Nations as ''America's largest, most violent right-wing, white-supremacist organization that believes the U.S. government is controlled by the state of Israel; advocates the elimination of Jews and all minorities.''
The Aryan Nations works with other groups in an effort to create an all-white nation.
Previous stories
FUGITIVES CAMPER FOUND IN WYOMING March 2, 1997
PAIR LINKED TO GUN TRADE March 1, 1997
GUNMEN CARRIED POLICE GEAR IN VAN Feb. 28, 1997
CHEVIE KEHOE INDICTED ON FEDERAL CHARGES Feb. 26, 1997
CALLS GIVE TIPS ON FUGITIVES Feb. 25, 1997
WILMINGTON SHOOTOUT NOW FBI CONCERN Feb. 22, 1997
BROTHERS INDICTED, SOUGHT IN SHOOTOUTS Feb. 21, 1997
TWO GUNMEN TRACKED TO CAMPGROUND Feb. 20, 1997
INVESTIGATORS, SUPREMACISTS APPEAL TO PUBLIC Feb. 19, 1997
FBI JOINS HUNT FOR GUNMEN Feb. 18, 1997
SHOOTOUT MAY BE LINKED TO KILLINGS Feb. 17, 1997
