POCATELLO — The Bureau of Land Management says the M-44 “cyanide bomb” that injured a 14-year-old boy and killed his dog last week was on BLM land.
The federal agency initially denied the device was on BLM property but now says it had been mistakenly placed there by a U.S. Department of Agriculture employee.
M-44s, also known as “cyanide bombs,” are used throughout the West by the USDA to protect livestock from wolves and other predators that could do them harm. According to the USDA, M-44s are spring-activated devices that release poisonous cyanide powder when activated.
Last Thursday, Canyon Mansfield was injured and his 3-year-old yellow Labrador retriever Casey was killed when the M-44 detonated behind the Mansfield family’s home on West Buckskin Road east of Pocatello. A curious Canyon saw the device sticking out of the ground and touched it, causing it to detonate and shower him and his dog with deadly cyanide powder.
Canyon was treated and released from Portneuf Medical Center hours after the M-44 detonated.
The incident has attracted widespread media attention, with the story being picked up by national and international media outlets such as Fox News and England’s Daily Mail.
On Wednesday, BLM spokeswoman Erin Curtis said the M-44 was mistakenly placed on BLM land by a USDA employee.
Curtis said the BLM prohibits M-44s from being placed on its lands and that the agency had no idea that the USDA had put one of the devices on the BLM property off West Buckskin Road.
The USDA would not confirm Wednesday that the bomb had been placed on BLM land. However, the USDA did confirm that the device was placed by one of its employees.
In response to the “cyanide bomb” injuring Canyon and killing Casey, the USDA said it has removed other M-44s that were placed in the immediate vicinity of the Mansfields’ home. The Mansfields said there were no warning signs to let the public know that the explosive devices were present.
Bannock County Sheriff Lorin Nielsen said his office is currently investigating last Thursday’s M-44 detonation and he hopes to find out why the device was planted so close to a residential neighborhood. Nielsen said the investigation will likely be completed by the end of the week and will be forwarded to the Bannock County Prosecutor’s Office if the sheriff’s office investigators feel criminal charges should be filed against anyone.
