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Santa Rosa Island Reopens After Closure Due To Search For Drug Smugglers

Santa Rosa Island reopens Wednesday after being shut down to public because of search for possible drug smugglers

One of the Channel Islands closed to the public because of safety concerns about smugglers has received an all clear from law enforcement agencies, and is now open again to the public.

The discovery of a boatload of marijuana on Santa Rosa Island prompted the island’s closure to the public, and a massive ground and air search. On October 25th, three thousand pounds of marijuana, some 44 bundles in all, was found on the island. An abandoned boat believed to have been linked to the smuggling effort was found on a beach on the Gaviota coastline.

Authorities were concerned that the smugglers might be on Santa Rosa Island still, so National Park Service rangers along with officers from various federal agencies began a search. A handful of campers were evacuated from the island, and all public visits were cancelled.

The search failed to turn up anyone, and the island reopened to the public Wednesday.

Lance Orozco has been News Director of KCLU since 2001, providing award-winning coverage of some of the biggest news events in the region, including the Thomas and Woolsey brush fires, the deadly Montecito debris flow, the Borderline Bar and Grill attack, and Ronald Reagan's funeral. 
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