DANDRIDGE, Tenn. (WVLT) - The Dandridge Police Department said a man has been charged after an active meth lab was found behind a store Tuesday morning.

According to Dandridge Police Chief Phillip Batts, officers went behind a wooded area behind Weigel’s in search for a suspect who ran from an earlier scene.

After several minutes of searching, Batts said officers found a makeshift camp several hundreds yards behind the store in a heavily wooded area and smelled a strong chemical odor consistent with the manufacture of methamphetamine.

Batts said officers requested backup before approaching the camp, where they saw the suspect, Michael Cyrus, sitting over a fire and “tending to what appeared to be an active meth lab.”

Cyrus was taken into custody after a brief struggle and taken to the

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