Authorities find fugitive's underground bunker in Washington state

SAMMAMISH, Wash., March 11 (UPI) -- Authorities in Washington state said they have discovered an underground bunker believed to have been used by a fugitive featured on America's Most Wanted.

Sammamish police, the Washington State Patrol, the FBI and federal Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms officers announced Tuesday the bunker was discovered in a thick wooded area near Lake Sammamish as part of an investigation into the activities of Bradley Steven Robinett, 46, who pleaded guilty to federal charges in January.

Investigators said Robinett fled supervised release on an armed robbery conviction in August 2009 and he remained on the run, despite two close calls with police, until he was arrested in June of last year.

FBI Coordinator Ayn Dietrich-Williams of the Seattle office said the bunker was found using evidence collected after Robinett's arrest.

"We followed clues that we uncovered through the investigation that read almost like a childhood treasure hunt," Williams said. "We knew to look for a certain type of tree by a certain type of ravine." Williams said the investigators found a suspicious piece of wood and pushed it aside to discover the stairs leading down to the 10-foot-by-8-foot bunker.

The coordinator said FBI agents recovered 15 to 20 plastic tote bags from the bunker, but she declined to reveal their contents.

Robinett was featured on America's Most Wanted in 2011, the same year he appeared on similar local program Washington's Most Wanted.

Williams said investigators are looking into evidence suggesting Robinett has other bunkers hidden in the state.

Robinett was arrested in June 2014 when officers in Hillsboro, Ore., discovered a car that had been reported stolen in a shopping mall parking lot and staked out the vehicle until the driver, Robinett, returned. He pleaded guilty to escape, being a felon in possession of a firearm and interstate transportation of a stolen vehicle.