Oregon refuge searched for evidence, explosives after occupiers leave

Police and federal agents searched a U.S. wildlife refuge in Oregon for explosives and evidence on Friday, a day after the last holdouts in a protest over federal control of Western land surrendered to end a six-week armed standoff. Federal authorities said the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in eastern Oregon would remain closed for several weeks as agents secured what is now considered a crime scene. After their surrender on Thursday, protesters told authorities they had left behind booby traps but did not say whether the trip wires and other devices would trigger explosions, a law enforcement official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters. Materials to create explosives could be found on the refuge, the official said, because workers there previously performed controlled burns. The final four protesters had enough food on hand to last them for many months, the official said...more