Four young men discovered a meth lab inside a book bag while playing basketball near their McMinn County neighbhorhood, according to the sheriff's department.
The book bag, which was located Monday along a tree line off County Road 899, contained several dangerous bottles and odd materials, officials said.
"The kids did the right thing - they knew something wasn't right and left it alone and told somebody what they found," Sheriff Joe Guy said in a news release. "This is a good example of how easy it is to find a meth lab."
Sheriff's Deputy Chad Bogle, a certified meth officer, responded to the scene to secure the backpack. Bogle contacted the county's Meth Task Force and Eagle Hazardous Materials team for cleanup, the release says.