Explosive device found during domestic assault investigation
A domestic assault investigation in east Columbia revealed an explosive device in a car.
Boone County Bomb Technicians were activated to safely remove the device on Tuesday at around 4:45 p.m.
This happened at 1 Keene Street, the Columbia Orthopedic Group.
Police say a domestic assault occurred involving a husband and a wife.
When officers arrived the two were not there.
They had left in a vehicle and were gone for a period of time, but then returned.
The victim made contact with police there.
Part of the assault occurred inside the victims vehicle, police did search it.
Court documents ABC 17 News has said there was an active pipe bomb, hanging noose, zip ties, and duck tape in the trunk of the vehicle.
Court documents say the man, Garry Mistler, hid in his wife’s trunk for an hour until she walked out to her car.
Mistler then jumped in the front seat to pull her in.
He told her he had a gun while driving her around Columbia for an hour and a half.
She was able to get away from Mistler when he stopped to get something to open the trunk.
The explosive device in the car was later removed by robotic equipment and eventually detonated in a controlled manner.
The Columbia Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division, Boone County Bomb Technicians and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Mistler was found and is now in a secure facility.
