The possible discovery of more than 30 grams of crystal meth last week in Columbia is under investigation in connection with a case that is believed to have initiated as a police chase from Missouri.

Columbia police said the matter was first investigated after residents of the Briar Lakes subdivision reported two separate incidents of suspicious subjects wandering around the neighborhood claiming to be searching for a lost cell phone. The first such incident occurred during the early afternoon of Feb. 12; the second occurred on Feb. 16.

It was later learned that police in Missouri had pursued a suspect vehicle in Jefferson County, Mo., during the early morning hours of Feb. 12. That pursuit continued to the Jefferson Barracks Bridge on I-255 into Illinois, where it was terminated. Police later found an abandoned car believed to be the subject of that chase near the quarry, not far from the Briar Lakes subdivision.

As part of the investigation, K-9 units from Columbia, Monroe County and Cahokia recently conducted a search of the area, during which a substance believed to be crystal meth was found.

The case remains under investigation.