Military paratroopers float onto prison grounds
Fremont County Colorado: Prison workers saw an unusual sight in the pre-dawn hours Thursday 25 military paratroopers floating down in the restricted airspace over the Fremont Correctional Facility. They landed in a cornfield on prison grounds, carrying rifles with rubber bullets, after missing their intended target of the Fremont County Airport.
As unusual as the incident was, Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Katherine Sanguinetti said, prison workers werent very alarmed. It was pretty apparent they were military, she said. But it remains unclear which branch of the military they were with.
Nope! Wudn us. Musta been them other guys.
The paratroopers identified themselves as being with the Department of Defense, but wouldnt tell prison staff which branch they were with. Army and Air Force officials denied knowledge of the incident. A spokesman for the 10th Special Forces at Fort Carson said it didnt appear any units had filed a report required when troops miss their drop zone.
An airport manager did not return a message Saturday.
Sanguinetti said staff patrolling the perimeter of the prison first saw the paratroopers about 4:50 a.m. They spotted them right before they hit the ground, she said.
The paratroopers said they landed there accidentally. They got blown off-course, Sanguinetti said. They said they meant to land at the county airport, about three miles to the east. Trucks arrived within a half-hour to pick up the troopers, she said.
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Posted by: GK 2007-07-15 |