Remote-control toy used in car bomb that targeted Michigan lawyer, sons

Federal officials in Detroit said today a fire that burned the Volvo wagon of a Michigan attorney hauling his two sons to football practice last September was triggered by a car bomb built with components from a toy remote-controlled car. The family somehow survived -- but the bomb-builder remains at large.

Erik Chappell, of La Salle, Mich., and his two sons ages 13 and 10 survived the Sept. 20 fire outside Monroe, Mich. Since then, agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have interviewed potential suspects and assembled evidence on the kind of bomb used, but have been unable to make an arrest.

ATF agent David McCain said the bomb used pieces from one of six remote-controlled toy vehicles built by Electrics RC available at hobby stores, describing the device as similar to a pipe bomb and "sophisticated" in its construction. It was mounted to the underside of the Volvo, but agents declined to say whether it was detonated on a timer or by a remote device.

Chappell has told The Detroit News he believes he knows who his attacker was, but declined to say whether the bomb might have been related to his legal work. The ATF decided to go public with the details of its investigation and raise the reward for information in the case to $20,000 to garner additional leads.