FBI investigated Quabbin Reservoir trespassing 7 people cited for trespassing Updated: Wednesday, 15 May 2013, 9:54 AM EDT Published : Tuesday, 14 May 2013, 10:29 PM EDT Joel Martinez BELCHERTOWN, Mass. (WWLP) - FBI agents from the bureau's Springfield Office were sent to Belchertown to investigate a situation involving seven peopletrespassing at the Quabbin Reservoir . According to the Massachusetts State Police, around12:30 a.m. Tuesday, a State trooper noticed two vehicles parked on the grass at the Quabbin Reservoir "middle entrance.” While investigating the area, he saw five men and two women walking toward the vehicles. The trooper determined the people were trespassing and in violation of the posted no trespassing law. The individuals claimed to be chemical engineers, recent college graduates, and stated that they were at the reservoir for education and career interest, according to State Police. Preliminary investigation, conducted later in the day by the Commonwealth Fusion Center , suggests the seven individuals are from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, andSingapore. The individuals live in Amherst, Cambridge, Sunderland, Northampton and New York City. They have no warrants against them and no crime was committed Tuesday, other than the trespassing. An investigation is being conducted due to the late hour of the incident, the individuals' explanation for why they were there, and the trespassing. After conducting the inquiries and investigation, the seven individuals were allowed to leave the scene in the two vehicles. All seven will be summonsed to Eastern Hampshire District Court for the offense of trespassing. Their names have not yet been released.
You know the old adage that nothing good happens after midnight. Interesting..... diverse group with a common thread- foreign students, most likely here on student visa's. Scouting mission possibly to hit Boston's water supply? It will be interesting to see if this makes the main page news- me thinks it won't. Has the focus shifted from NY due to the heavy security presence post 9/11?
I've been out there at the Quabbin Reservoir, and you can't go anywhere without running into the State Police. They have a station at the base of the mountain, and I recall being stopped and questioned in the parking lot of the park when I was returning from a hike. The police were very professional and courteous, though. This was back before 2001, however.
Hoping its open season on Mooselums soon. Its really the only way. Other than nuking them from space. Just to be sure.
Someone who works for the man goes there quite a bit. But to see a bunch of foreigner there at night, that sound send off every warning bell there is. Thank goodness I am on a well.
Somewhere around 3.5 million people drink Quabbin water. Not just Boston, but a lot of areas between the reservoir and Boston metro area as well. Wouldn't take a lot of something to make a lot of people sick. The water takes several days to get from the Quabbin to downtown, IIRC. (I worked on the MWWST project that upgraded the supply tunnel.)
Sounds to me that they could have been checking out access for potential bad things to go in the lake- maybe. The only question I have is what can you drop in a lake that large that would reach a threat level. There would be so much dispersion of any foreign agent that I would question what the effects could be on a large body of water.
Interesting question YD. I am sure that there is some horrendous thing out there that could poison a water supply. Like those things that just a pin drop can wipe out a block. Many things can go undetected unless labs are specifically looking for that substance. On the other hand it could be something that is placed in the water to grow and expand then a month down the road it has taken over and is in the pipes.
drop it close to .. or into the intake. volume of the lake is no matter. probably would need to be something that is not effected by chlorination or treatment processes. anyway, pre-treatment contamination is more for the panic effect. it's post treatment and in the pipe going to homes that will be deadly.
They did exactly that, checking every thing and body coming even close to the lake. At least someone figured there were toxins that could survive dilution. Used to be the Quabbin was open for boating and fishing. That ended 9/11. I had to get fingerprinted for a pass to access my own construction site well before the project was completed. All the various sites (6 in all, IIRC) had separate badges. Later, when I got assigned duty on all sites, it took a different badge altogether. Round the clock state cop patrols inside the sites off hours and locked gates became the rule. (A couple of the tunnel inspectors came to the surface inside the wrong site and were, ah, detained until they were identified. Better than walking back 7 miles thru the tunnel to where they entered to inspect.)
