Mysterious late-night explosions in rural Bucks County draw interest of FBI, ATF
Authorities say the blasts have been heard in the overnight hours for weeks.
A combined task force of federal, state, and local authorities is working to find the origin of mysterious, late-night explosions in rural Bucks County.
Police in Springfield Township, about an hour from Philadelphia, said Wednesday that they have received multiple complaints from residents about the explosions in the last month. The most recent came in at 4 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.
"There's no reason to think it's natural, but we're not ruling anything out," said Special Agent Charlene Hennessy, a spokeswoman for the bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' Philadelphia office.
Agents from the local ATF and FBI field offices are assisting in the probe, which is being led by the Pennsylvania State Police, given the remoteness of the area, as well as "the apparent size of the explosions," according to Springfield Township police.
The bulletin from the rural department mirrors a similar one issued April 19 by police in nearby Richland Township, who urged residents to report anything suspicious and, if possible, work to help authorities pinpoint the direction of the explosions.
Richland Township police say they have roughly traced the source of the explosions to "Milford in the area along North Old Beth Pike."
Police in the region caution residents to avoid investigating the explosions themselves and to continue reporting them to authorities.