WASHINGTON COUNTY, Md. — A welfare check turned into a death investigation when police found a man dead, lying in front of a homemade lab with unknown chemicals in Maryland, police said.
Troopers with the Maryland State Police responded to a Foxville Road home in Smithsburg around 11 a.m. on Thursday to perform a welfare check at the request of the family. The family informed police they had not spoken to their loved one, 60-year-old Bradley Roberts, in several days and that he had been sick.
At the home, troopers looked into the window and saw a man lying on the floor in front of what appeared to be a homemade laboratory with what troopers called "an excessive amount of unknown chemicals."
Investigators trained in clandestine laboratories and explosive chemical compounds, along with local task force agents from the Drug Enforcement Administration responded to the home and provided help to Roberts. Unfortunately, he was pronounced dead at the scene by officials.
With the chemicals being unknown and the fire and rescue equipment needed to enter the home, Foxville Road was closed to traffic in the area. The roadway was reopened once the chemicals were tested and found to not be explosive.
The cause of death is being investigated by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, but there was no indication of violence or foul play at the scene, police said.
The investigation is active and ongoing.
