Good thing whoever tried to booby trap a trailhead leading into Forest Park just south of that one cemetery up on NW Skyline Boulevard doesn't seem terribly skilled.

Cops this morning say they found a slack tripwire along Firelane 3 and that it was connected to a pipe loaded with a shotgun shell. And apparently, it had been there for days before a regional explosives task force showed up to take it away. But the reassuring news: Though someone even tripped it, nothing actually happened, according to a statement from the Portland Police Bureau that called the device "inoperable."

It's not an unpopular trail for hikers, most of whom have been stepping over the failed tripwire. It could be some kind of dumb prank. Or the work of someone too crude to do any real danger. Either way... maybe keep your eyes peeled if you hike around the same environs. Just to be safe.

On Saturday October 18, 2014, at approximately 5:00 p.m., the Metropolitan Explosives Disposal Unit (MEDU) responded to the report of a tripwire device on a trail from the 4000 block of Northwest Thunder Crest Drive into Forest Park. The trail is described as "Firelane 3" on area maps.

The device was an improvised firearm with a pipe loaded with a shotgun shell. The device was connected to a tripwire across the trail. The tripwire was slack and it appeared that it had been tripped and the device was inoperable.

The device was safely removed by a bomb tech and taken as evidence. Officers spoke with some area residents and learned that the device may have been there since Tuesday but was not reported to police until Saturday.

There have been no instances of other items such as this being discovered or reported and it is unclear why someone would place this device on what is believed to be a well-used trail by hikers, bikers and equestrians.

Officers checked the immediate area and did not find anything else suspicious or of note.

Although this trail is not in Forest Park, Portland Parks & Recreation has been made aware of this incident.