Hikers, Bikers Warned of Dangerous ‘Booby Traps' Planted on New Jersey Trails

What to Know

  • A man said he's been seeing the traps for more than a month
  • Police say they include nail-spiked wooden blanks and barbed wire stretched out across pathways
  • Authorities say the traps can be extremely dangerous and advise anyone who sees anything suspicious to contact police

Police are warning hikers and mountain bikers to be vigilant after someone apparently placed booby traps, including barbed wire and wooden planks with protruding nails, just beneath the surface of trails in a New Jersey park. 

Wayne police say a resident told them he has been finding the traps on the trails at High Mountain Park since June 23. He has found broken bottles behind or next to rocks or logs, rope and barbed wire strung across pathways and wooden planks with screws and nails sticking out of them placed just under the road surface to injure hikers or pop bicycle tires, authorities say. 

Police said the man's report about the traps was the first they'd heard of them; it wasn't clear if anyone had been hurt.

High Mountain Park is shared among the jurisdictions of Wayne, North Haledon and Franklin Lakes, and Wayne police say anyone who has seen any suspicious activity in the park should contact their local department. 

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