2 jailed in case of bomb at TransAlta

The Olympian • Published September 06, 2008

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Detectives from the Lewis County Sheriff's Office arrested two men Friday morning in connection with making an explosive device left alongside railroad tracks Aug. 20 near the TransAlta mine, about 4 miles northeast of Centralia.

Patrick Eberle, 29, and Robert McGee, 44, both of Napavine, were arrested late Friday morning after an investigation by detectives, according to the sheriff's office.

Also according to the department:

Eberle told detectives he made the bomb device for the Fourth of July. The device did not detonate as planned. In early August, he put the device in his car and planned to transport it to a location where he could dump it. He was frightened when he saw a security guard near TransAlta and left the device along the railroad tracks.

Eberle told investigators he saw news about the incident but was afraid to call the sheriff's office to report what he'd done.

McGee was arrested for allegedly providing Eberle with the blasting cap found on the device. Both have been booked into Lewis County Jail on suspicion of unlawful possession of explosives, and Eberle also faces trespassing charges.

The device was found by a TransAlta employee who took it to a supervisor, not realizing it was a bomb. The device was a 5-gallon propane tank with green and yellow wires, and its blasting cap had been activated. The black powder in the tank did not detonate; the sheriff's office was unsure why.

No message or threat was left with the bomb. A TransAlta spokeswoman has declined to say whether there are surveillance cameras where the bomb was placed.

The bomb is at the Washington State Patrol Crime Lab for evidence processing.