above: M. Massey and G. Massey<BR>below: Ragsdale and Thacker

Law enforcement from Union and Wallowa County and Elgin and Enterprise joined the Union/Wallowa County Drug Task Force on Jan. 25 to sniff out a stash of methamphetamine with a street value of $6,000 and arrest four people on drug charges.

Elgin Police arrested Michelle Massey, 30, and Grady Massey, 28, of Joseph, James Ragsdale, 28, of Joseph, and Chris Thacker, 24, of Enterprise. As of Tuesday the Masseys were out on bail and Ragsdale and Thacker were released to a responsible party.

The bust began with a traffic stop of a vehicle in Union County. The vehicle was suspected to be carrying a large amount of methamphetamine and was headed for Wallowa County, deputies said. A narcotics search dog from the Union County Sheriff’s Office made a “free air search” of the car and alerted law enforcement of a controlled substance.

The subsequent investigation produced over 2 ounces of methamphetamine, drug paraphernalia and other evidence.

“Two ounces is a fairly significant amount as far as what is being brought into this small community,” said Wallowa County Sheriff Fred Steen. “The people arrested represent a part of the pipeline for drugs in our county.”