History for Chron

Spokane city and county law enforcement officers were searching for dynamite after a series of blasts the past week rocked the southwest area of town.

Spokane Police Lt. Perry Miles said as many as 150 dynamite sticks may be missing from public and private stocks in the Marshall area.

An unexploded fused stick of dynamite was found Thursday inside a residential newspaper box. Miles noted that even one stick is powerful enough to detonate a second stick up to 50 feet away.

The night before, officers located 10 cases of dynamite from the Marshall Powder company that were left unattended outside a southwest Spokane service station. The dynamite had been left for a mining company to pick up.

Two Spokane boys, ages 13 and 14, led deputies on a crime spree that started with a burglary in North Spokane.

The day started when the boys broke into a home on South Greene Street and obtained $27. They used the cash to buy a radio, watch a movie and buy a bus ticket to Hillyard.

The boys then climbed into the hills above Esmeralda Golf Course and tried to steal a horse from a barn. After failing, the boys walked down to Upriver Drive and apparently stole a mattress from a trailer.

They then hauled the mattress to a boat shop and placed the bedding in a cabin cruiser where they slept the night.