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Officers search wooded area for hours in Upshur County

The Inter-Mountain photo by Amanda Hayes Traffic on Tallmansville Road was stopped at the Ford Turn Wednesday afternoon with help from the fire department while law enforcement searched in the area.

BUCKHANNON — The Upshur County SWAT team was briefly activated Wednesday afternoon after a caller to Upshur County E-911 Center indicated there had been shots fired and a man had made threats to law enforcement, according to radio traffic.

Officials did not announce if there were shots fired or if a suspect was arrested as of press time Wednesday.

Shortly after the call to 911 around 2:35 p.m., law enforcement responded to a residence past the Ford Turn to search. Chief Deputy Mike Kelley with the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department called for the Upshur County SWAT team to be activated saying it was not a drill.

Traffic on Tallmansville Road was stopped at the Ford Turn with help from the fire department while law enforcement searched in the area.

More officers from the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department, Buckhannon Police Department and Buckhannon detachment of the West Virginia State Police along with Upshur County EMS staged at a parking lot in front of the Upshur County Schools bus garage on Tallmansville Road.

Lt. Doug Loudin with the BPD referred questions to Kelley, the lead investigator; however, Kelley went off duty before he could be reached. Facebook posts criticized officials for not releasing information. However, the Upshur County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management posted a message to their Facebook Wednesday evening saying, “There is a lot of negative post(s) concerning the emergency presence at the bus garage. If it would have been necessary to alert the public, this office would have done so. Our community’s safety is our primary concern.”

More information will be published as it is made available.

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