A farmer's discovery of a pipe bomb Monday about 7 miles southeast of Grand Forks led officials to deploy a robot and a technician to defuse the device.
Authorities received a report shortly before noon of a suspicious object on a gravel road about a mile west of Walle Lutheran Church.
Lt. Tracy Meidinger said the regional bomb squad went to the scene and found a 5-inch metal pipe bomb. He said the bomb was not an immediate threat to anyone in the area.
Meidinger, who heads the bomb squad, said they deployed a robot to shoot off one of the bomb's two end caps but were unsuccessful, so a technician wearing protective equipment was sent in. Using a special device, the technician shot off an end cap and, in turn, defused the bomb, he said.
Meidinger, of the UND Police Department, suspects the bomb had been lit, thrown out the window of a vehicle, but then failed to explode.
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In October 2009, the bomb squad disabled a metal pipe bomb that was found in a field about two miles southwest of Grand Forks.
Meidinger said he does not think the bombs are related.
Anyone with information about the bomb found Monday can call the Grand Forks County Sheriff's Department at (701) 780-8280.
