KEYSTONE -- There are drugs missing in Keystone, town officials said Tuesday.

Mayor William Wade confirmed during a special meeting of the Keystone Town
Council on Tuesday that the West Virginia State Police would soon be
conducting an investigation concerning the theft of drugs that had been
stored in the Keystone City Hall from past drug seizures.

Keystone Police Chief Sherman McKinney discovered there were missing drugs
during an inventory check on April 1. The substances, which were being kept
in a safe inside the City Hall, were from seizures dating back to 1998 and
1999.

Both Wade and McKinney reported they were in the process of having the
drugs destroyed when the missing drugs were discovered last week. They said
there had been a delay in accomplishing this due to the recent changes in
the Keystone administration. Wade, himself, just took over as mayor last
month and McKinney was named the permanent Keystone Police Chief just last
Thursday after serving in the acting police chief role since December.

"On March 25 the mayor instructed me to find out the procedure to get the
drugs disposed of," said McKinney, who added he had to get permission from
the prosecuting attorney to do so, along with the combination to the safe,
which was being kept by a city official. "When I opened up (the safe) the
inventory conflicted with my inventory list."

The State Police investigation comes at a time soon after two members of
Keystone's police force vacated their posts, leaving McKinney as Keystone's
only current officer.

Officers Dwayne Reed and Norvell Toler quit their jobs last Friday.
McKinney said he was unaware why the two left, but he did add that both men
had arguments with the Town Council during a meeting the previous night. He
was also quick to point out that the officers had no connections with the
stored drugs.

"These boys had made no drug arrests or drug seizures. They were not
evidence custodians," said McKinney. "I'm not even sure if they'll be
interviewed (by State Police), but if they are it will only be because they
had been alone with the safe since December 15."

The two officers, though, may not be out of a job for long. During an
executive session called at the beginning of last night's council meeting,
council members decided both Reed and Toler could have their jobs back if
they reported back to work by Monday. Mayor Wade also disputed any claims
that the two men had resigned or had been forced to resign by the council.

"The two officers not here were never terminated by the council or myself,"
said Wade. "They have an opportunity to reconsider. We will notify each
officer by mail that they have until Monday to report to work. If they
don't then we'll assume they've automatically terminated themselves."

In the meantime, Wade says the town is in good hands and, if needed,
replacement officers could be hired quickly. He also criticized the media
for his belief that they made it look like the town was currently in danger
with no law enforcement.

"I wish they (the media) would be more accurate. They gave the impression
that safety was being denied. That was the wrong impression to give," said
Wade. "I'm really surprised how the media took advantage of these
misunderstandings."

After the meeting, McKinney eased the minds of any concerned Keystone
citizens by saying his department was offered assistance by the McDowell
County Sheriff's Department if needed.

"They've pledged their support to help the town at any time," said McKinney.