Authorities recover stolen Mo. explosives

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Most of a cache of explosives stolen in 2007 from a Missouri law enforcement training center has been recovered, U.S. agents say.

The arrests of Ryan Webster, 22, of St. Charles, Mo., and two other men led to the discovery of guns, ammunition and explosives, allegedly found stashed in an attic and including all of the C-4 plastic explosives that had been taken from a police firing range, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Tuesday.

Webster appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Mary Ann Medler in St. Louis Monday, charged with possession of stolen explosives. In court documents, prosecutors say they were told by an acquaintance of Webster's that he was preparing for the "end of the world" in 2012, as some believe is predicted by the Mayan calendar, the newspaper said.

Authorities, however, wouldn't reveal how the explosives figured into Webster's alleged plans.

Police said the theft of explosives from the St. Charles County Law Enforcement Training Center was accomplished by someone cutting through two chain link fences and padlocks. The Post-Dispatch said tools like those used in the crime allegedly were found in Webster's house, along with more than 16 guns, a large quantity of ammunition and a silencer.