Deputies had gone to the residence to search for Joseph Dombrowski III, 30, who had jumped and run during a traffic stop by Raleigh police.
When police stopped Dombrowski, they smelled a strong chemical odor in the car. They contacted the sheriff's office and advised deputies to check the Birchfalls residence, which was associated with the car tags.
When deputies arrived to check the residence, they detected what they believed was a meth lab. They obtained a search warrant and executed the warrant with the help of the SBI HazMat team, Raleigh Police Department's drug unit and clandestine lab specialists.
SBI HazMat team members said the manufacturing scene and cleanup effort was the largest they had seen in eastern North Carolina in the last five years. Initial estimates for the worth of the methamphetamine produced at the site is $1.5 million.
Deputies also recovered 16 firearms from the residence.
When Dombrowski jumped and ran, he left his 3-year-old child in the car. The child was taken to Wake Med, treated and released to foster care.
Authorities are still searching for Dombrowski. Anyone with information concerning him should contact the Wake County Sheriff's Office at
856-6800.
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