Over a week after the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office issued a warning about hazardous duct-taped “river bottles” turning up along the Roaring Fork River, the Drug Enforcement Administration says they can't yet ID what's in the bottles.
The bottles were thought to be filled with “flammable and corrosive materials” that are hazardous to human health, the Garfield County Sheriff’s Office said last week. Originally, authorities said the bottles were likely related to meth in some way, but Special Agent Randy Ladd with the DEA in Denver says they've tested negative for meth precursors and controlled substances.
Special Agent Ladd also says the ATF has checked on the contents in the bottles and found they tested negative for explosives.
Fourteen bottles were found in the Roaring Fork River on Jan. 24 – and since then, 50 have been found in Garfield, Eagle and Pitkin counties.
The substance inside the bottles is a blue and purple liquid with a solid, salt-like substance on the bottom. If encountered, do not move, touch or open the bottles. Instead, note the location and immediately contact local law enforcement.
The Colorado Bureau of Investigation, Colorado State Patrol Hazmat team, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Drug Enforcement Administration continue to investigate.
Ladd told 9NEWS testing will be continued until the contents of the bottles is pinned down.
