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GARFIELD COUNTY -- A hiker helped deputies find and take down a huge marijuana farm in Garfield County.
Drug agents raided the farm on the east fork of Boulder Creek Thursday morning. Two growers were found on the property, but they got away.
The farm was found by a woman hiking in the area about three weeks ago. She had coincidentally received training from Garfield County Sheriff Deputy Ray Gardner a month ago about what exactly to do when one might accidentally encounter a marijuana farm. She followed the protocol she had learned and was able to report the marijuana farm to authorities.
Teams destroyed about 4,500 plants, irrigation pipes and piles of garbage left by the marijuana growers.
Agents estimate the marijuana's street value to be several million dollars.