Bottles found in river may be tied to meth

Eleven Bridge.

“It turned out to be 14 bottles consistent with a cold-cook method of making methamphetamine,” Assistant Fire Chief Pete Bradshaw said.

About half of the bottles were directly beneath the bridge while others were slightly downstream, he said, and it was impossible to determine how long the containers were in the river.

A member of the Basalt Fire Department donned an suit to retrieve the vessels. They are being stored in a packed drum with absorbing material in case they leak.

Basalt Police Chief Greg Knott said a concerned citizen initially reported the containers to the Roaring Fork Conservancy. The conservancy, which monitors water quantity and quality issues, contacted the Police Department.

It doesn’t appear that any substances leaked from the containers, officials said. A company has been hired to analyze the contents, Knott said.

“We’re assuming they’re a byproduct of meth,” he said.

In cold-cook meth making, a cold medicine is combined with substances such as ether, lighter fluid and liquid Drano, then shaken for several hours. The resulting compound is extremely volatile.

Knott said it is not known if the containers were placed in the river intentionally or if they were discarded.

“We don’t have any susice-rescue pects or leads at this time,” he said.

The Basalt Fire Department shared a safety bulletin about the containers with other public safety agencies. The information was given to The Aspen Times to warn the public.

The containers used for cold-cook meth would hold less than a gallon and would be filled with a cloudy liquid and some sort of paper or metal fragments. Anyone who spots such a container should not handle it and should immediately report it to authorities, officials said.