KENT COUNTY (WWJ) - A hiker is raising alarms in western Michigan after he happened across a hidden bunker about a mile's hike into Rogue River State Game Area on Friday, complete with 70 sandbags, reinforced walls and a fire pit.
“It bothers me,” the Kent County hiker -- who does not want to be identified -- told WOODTV Target 8 reporter Ken Kolker. “It looks like it was built for a purpose and it looks like a lot of effort went into it.”
The bunker, according to the man, looks freshly built and may still be under construction as Kolker reported newly cut trees lined up on the ground nearby.
The bunker is built in a perfectly concealed area, hidden under a canopy of trees, up on a hill that oversees Spring Creek. It sits roughly 50 yards off a small trail that begins off Red Pine Drive, north of 18 Mile Road NE, northeast of Kent City, according to WOOD8.
The structure runs about 15 by 15 feet and is nearly 3 feet deep.
“It doesn’t belong here,” the hiker said. “It’s state land and it’s an illegal structure here.”
The man said that sandbags are stacked two high, securing the outer perimeter. Another 24 bags lie in the corner, apparently waiting for the builder of the mysterious site to return.
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“The sandbags, you don’t need them for paint ball," the hiker said. "You don’t need them for a deer blind. It looks like they’re to stop incoming bullets. It’s on a hill. There ain’t going to be a flood here.”
The hiker immediately contacted authorities when he stumbled across the strange structure in case it is the work of a local militia group, but it appears he is getting the runaround.
He said he first alerted the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who put him in contact with the FBI. He was then referred to local police. When he called to report the bunker to Michigan State Police, troopers sent him over to the Kent County Sheriff’s Department. He was then transferred over to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
"I would think they would want to do some sort of investigation and try to figure out who did this and what their idea was behind it," the man said.
He told Kolker that he hoped authorities could capture those responsible by setting up trail cams, but the DNR said they only have plans to deconstruct the bunker, which they agreed was illegally constructed if it was a deer blind.
The man, however, remains wary.
"I think to not investigate is sort of a missed opportunity with everything going on nowadays."
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