Inquisitive and intelligent 8-year-old Maya Buffington didn’t panic. She knew exactly what to do. “I thought I had to get away fast and go tell my mom,” she told police. That’s exactly what she did.
Go tell mom
The young resident of Ankeny, Iowa, near the state capital of Des Moines, was playing outside her home just before 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday and saw something curious in the middle of her street, Southeast Waywin Drive. She approached it cautiously. When interviewed by police she was very “matter of fact” about the whole thing. “I found a bomb,” Maya said. As soon as she recognized the object she turned around and went to find her mom, quick.
At first, she relates, “I saw something in the street that I thought was a dead squirrel and then went to go look at it and that and it wasn’t a dead squirrel,” she said. “I saw something wrapped in tape and cardboard.” Uh-oh. “I thought I had to get away fast and go tell my mom.” Police are investigating furiously.
Mom dialed 911 instantly. There’s a whole herd of kids in the neighborhood, including Cavion Mure, who’s dad Tracey is thankful the boy didn’t “set off the device while riding his bike.” A car could have driven over it too. “That could have been easily an explosion and hurt a kid so it’s just crazy,” Tracey Mure said. “You don’t think in this neighborhood that’s gonna happen.”
Numerous recent explosions
After talking to mom, Police made some flyers and started passing them around the area. They’re also talking to residents about what happened, fishing for clues or tips. Local villagers have “made numerous calls over the last few months reporting explosions. Three months ago, “police discovered a live pipe bomb outside a polling place.” Speaking for Ankeny PD, Sargent Corey Schneden said investigators are looking into any possible connections.
“Nothing’s been ruled out, but we don’t have anything that points directly that it’s connected,” Schneden waffles. “But we don’t have anything that says it’s not.” The mom and daughter gave lots of helpful information but police aren’t talking about “what type of device was found along Waywin Drive.” They are saying that compared to the polling place bomb, two devices were “not similar.”
Just like Maya’s mom, Schneden notes it is “concerning that the device was left in the middle of the street, where a person or vehicle could have detonated it.” Police have been in contact with people in the neighborhood who have surveillance cameras and they’re asking the rest to call in anything suspicious. “Our ultimate goal is to figure out who’s doing this. We don’t want anyone to get hurt or any property damage.”