No injuries after explosion reported in Moultonborough Friday

MOULTONBOROUGH — Police called for the State Police bomb squad after a reported explosion along Moultonboro Neck Road Friday.

Just before 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, Moultonborough police and fire were dispatched to Moultonboro Neck Road, in the area of Stuart Circle, for reports of an explosive device being detonated. There were no reported injuries, according to a department social media post. 

Police notified the state bomb squad. A state police spokesperson confirmed Monday morning the agency’s bomb squad responded to the scene, but referred further questions to the Moultonborough Police Department, which is taking the lead on the investigation. 

Moultonborough Police Chief Peter Beede did not return a request for information. A police dispatcher told The Conway Daily Sun on Friday no additional information was available. 

The road was shut down from the location of Jo Jo’s Country Store to Far Echo Road until 3:30 p.m. on Jan. 2, according to a department post on social media. 

This is the second time Moultonborough police called for the State Police bomb squad in less than six months.

In August, police shut down Lees Mill Road between Lee and Hayes roads on Aug. 6, after an individual discovered a suspicious device in Lee Cemetery, which turned out to be a geocache. 

After receiving multiple citizen reports regarding the geocache container in the cemetery, police went there to investigate. They happened upon a homemade contraption, not a bomb — it appeared to be a pill bottle with wires and tape.

The New Hampshire State Police Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit responded to investigate the contraption, and local police asked residents to avoid the area. One State Trooper from that unit located the item and determined it posed no hazard. 

The road was reopened just before noon that day. Beede told The Laconia Daily Sun at the time that because there was nothing criminal about the incident, there were no anticipated charges. 

He wasn’t sure what happened to the device, but suspected it was disposed of properly.

A geocache is part of a geolocation-based scavenger hunt game.