Stories like this are why I rarely go hiking without some sort of protection. From The Lindsay Post:

A dozen armed men who were stealing marijuana from a grow operation north of Minden are responsible for taking six innocent passersby hostage last October, according to police.

At a press conference on Tuesday, Det. Insp. Ken Leppert from the OPP criminal investigations branch described the events that led to the arrest of 45 people and 173 charges being laid in connection to the Minden-area incident.

“The six civilians were taken hostage and forcibly confined and accosted at gunpoint and … in one instance they were shot at and pistol whipped, dragged along the ground and injured significantly as a result of the attack on them. After the culprits left the area the victims made their way out of the area along the hydro line north of Minden,” Leppert said.

“October 5, 2007 the profits were enormous and these six innocent civilians experienced first hand unimaginable fear and terror,” said OPP Chief Supt. Ken Smith.

The dozen men, masked and dressed in camouflage, escaped by car from Minden, although Smith confirmed that an aircraft was used at some point. He would not give further information on the plane.

According to police, the dozen men were on an ATV trail north of town stealing 1,800 pounds of marijuana from someone else’s grow operation. They were happened upon by a variety of people – some in the forest for work, some for pleasure, some hunting – and took them hostage. They later released their hostages after stealing their identification and cell phones and fled.

Police have not yet found the owners of the grow op.

Since that time, the OPP has been making arrests in the case and in another case on June 13, 2007 when a man was shot and his car stolen along Highway 401 near Belleville.

“What was observed in the hostage taking in October of 2007 was indicative of one part of their criminal enterprise,” Smith said.

“These criminals were amongst the most dangerous type of criminal because they would stop at nothing to steal from others. The greater the profit the more they were willing to do to get it.”

The investigation was dubbed ‘Project Pirate’ by police. Leppert said that a total of 2,200 pounds of marijuana valued at $8 million was seized along with various handguns, nearly $50,000 in cash, seven high-end vehicles, 159 grams of cocaine and more than 2,000 ecstasy pills. Police also confiscated handcuffs, an expandable baton, body armour, camouflage clothing, and electronic devices, including GPSs.

Drug labs in the woods, and now the people that prey upon them, are increasingly a concern for we rugged outdoors types who tend to do a little wandering in the far away places. Stumbling upon someone’s grow operation, or worse their meth lab, will almost always lead to violence. Hikers and others who prance about unarmed should be aware that crimes like this can happen to anyone. If your state allows you to carry a firearm where you like hiking I’d do so; if not try to at least have bear repellent and a good knife.

And never go to the woods without a cell phone, a first aid kit and most importantly without telling somebody where you are.