SHARPSBURG, MD - Officers investigating a weapons complaint have removed guns from a home in Sharpsburg, ending a tense situation that stretched for hours Thursday afternoon.

Maryland State Police troopers were trying to serve a warrant against Terry Porter, a welder and avid hunter, after getting a tip that he had illegal weapons in his house on Mills Road, according to sources familiar with Porter and the investigation.

Troopers were never able to locate him but searched his home after speaking with Porter's wife.

The Special Response Team, similar to SWAT officers, surrounded the house early Thursday afternoon, blocking off Mills Road at Burnside Bridge Road and Harpers Ferry Road.

Porter has a bunker-type structure on his property.  One neighbor described him as a "survivalist."

Troopers stress that Porter has not been charged with anything as of Thursday night.  They say they were serving a search warrant as part of an ongoing investigation.

They decided to end the operation after speaking with his wife and children, according to Greg Shipley, a spokesperson for the Maryland State Police.  Shipley never identified Porter by name to WHAG because he has not been charged with anything.

The Special Response Team, K-9 units and a Maryland State Police helicopter were on the scene for most of the day.

Meantime, in a separate incident, a woman was injured in an accident on Burnside Bridge Road, but the two incidents were not connected.  More details here.