Well, they were baby buds. But still ... damn! Press release from the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office below:

On 04-23-2012, approximately 1:30 p.m. the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Office was notified by Humboldt Redwoods Company (H.R.C.) security that two security officers patrolling their property located what appeared to be a marijuana cultivation site.

Sheriffs deputies with the Humboldt County Sheriff’s Community Response Unit (C.R.U.) responded to the scene which was on H.R.C. property near Dyerville. Deputies met up with H.R.C. security and they walked back into the site at approximately 3:00 p.m. Deputies located a camp site with a Coleman stove, cooking utensils and numerous cultivation supplies. A further search of the area revealed 5, 544 growing marijuana plants ranging in size from two inches to five inches in height. The plants appeared to have been freshly watered. There were written items and food articles located in the campsite that indicated the suspects may have been Hispanic.

The plants were seized and destroyed. The case is still under investigation; no suspects were located or have been identified as of this time.

UPDATE: 1,669 More Plants Go Down