Bomb Squad Called To 2 Scenes In Western Wis.
By Edgar Linares, NewsRadio 830 WCCO
DALLAS, Wis. (WCCO) -- The Barron County Sheriff's Office is investigating two separate scenes that required the Marathon County Bomb Squad's help.
The first incident happened at 8:55 a.m. Tuesday in the town of Dallas, Wis. A mover discovered two boxes filled with hundreds of blasting caps. The small devices are used to detonate larger, more powerful explosives.
"They found about 200 blasting caps that were about 30 years old," said Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald. "They were tucked away in a corner… in an upstairs storage room."
The man who lived in the home was no longer there because he had been receiving medical treatment somewhere else.
While the bomb squad was en route to that scene, the sister of 60-year-old Gene Prekker from St. Paul went to check on her brother at a cabin outside of Cameron.
At 11:52 a.m. she discovered her brother was dead in a detached garage. Investigators suspect he died of carbon monoxide poisoning. They found several tractors running and a possible suicide note at the scene. Fitzgerald wouldn't disclose what the note said.
While deputies processed the garage they found a four-inch pipe bomb near Prekker's body.
"The bomb squad was diverted from the first scene to our scene," said Fitzgerald. "There were materials there to make this bomb, but no other materials to make any other bombs. I believe this is an isolated incident."
Fitzgerald said he doesn't know what the bomb was for but will be following up with Prekker's family to wrap up his investigation.
