METH MOUNTIES ARE LATEST METHOD IN SEARCH FOR LABS

MONROE CITY, IN. - Communities searching for innovative ways to stop the
production of methamphetamine have tried everything from distributing locks
for fertilizer tanks to training road crew to identify meth labs.

Steve Luce, a sheriff from Knox County with a Wild West streak, dons a
cowboy hat and hops on a horse.

Since March, The sheriff and his deputies have gone by horseback through
forest and farms three or four times a month, looking for the labs in
places were cars and all-terrain vehicles cannot go.

"It's my job to let them know we don't want them here," said Luce, a former
heavyweight wrestler.

Use of methamphetamine is soaring in the Midwest and South, especially in
the rural areas. It is a highly addictive stimulant that can be snorted,
smoked, or injected.

The meth labs, consisting of kitchen appliances and glass jars. Can be
small enough to fit in a backpack; at least one found in southern Indiana
was on the back of a motorcycle. Most of the ingredients to make meth are
easily found at a supermarket, except for anhydrous ammonia, a fertilizer
commonly found on farms.

Knox County is popular for meth labs because of an abundance of the
fertilizer and rural areas that provide places to hide. In 1999, nine labs
were found in the County, compared with 71 last year.

Luce said it's not uncommon for 70 percent of the inmates in his jail to be
behind bars because of meth-related crimes.

"They got hooked on this stuff," he said. "It's evil."

For farmers, meth also is a menace. Thieves stumble on their property to
steal the fertilizer. They hide labs in the middle of cornfields, unknown
to a farmer until the labs are run over by farm machinery.

Luce said the horseback patrols are helping to win farmer' trust. He
invited farmers to a hog roast before the patrols started and persuaded
them to let him go on their land. Others agreed to lend seven horses to the
program.

Since the patrols started in the spring, he and his deputies have found 18
labs, 17 of witch were inactive.

"The horse definitely has an advantage. They can go where four-wheelers
can' t go," Luce said.

As they navigate the countryside. Luce said his deputies look for signs of
meth, such as the smell of ether or ammonia. They stop when they see
possible markers left by cooks, such as fabric hanging from a tree.

First Sgt. Dave Phelps, team leader of the clandestine lab team for the
Indiana State Police, said the horse patrols are a practical solution to
the meth problem.

"So many are hidden out in the woods and fields in desolate areas," Phelps
said. "If any agency really wants to aggressively look for them, you've got
to look outside the box."