While searching for a lost hiker on July 27, a Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department helicopter crew spotted almost 4,000 marijuana plants growing in the hills above Highway 41 in San Luis Obispo County.
Sheriff’s Narcotics detectives immediately began surveying the grow, where they observed four males in the act of tending and harvesting the plants.
On July 29, deputies attempted to arrest the suspects, but they managed to escape into the heavy underbrush after being alerted to the presence of detectives hiking into the area.
Later that evening, the marijuana field was secured, and detectives removed approximately 3,965 plants, each with an estimated street value of about $3,500.
According to a press release from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Depart-ment, officials don’t believe the case is related to the missing hiker and his subsequent death.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department called the Santa Barbara County helicopter crew in to help with the search.
This article appears in Aug 7-14, 2008.