Explosives Discovered in Raid on Residence : Crime: Neighborhood is evacuated when deputies find an arms cache in kidnaping suspects’ home.

Residents of a Rowland Heights neighborhood were evacuated from their homes early Friday while sheriff’s deputies investigating the kidnaping of two Chinese nationals searched a home for explosives, authorities said.

Sheriff’s Department spokesman Deputy George Ducoulombier said deputies started evacuating residents about 5 a.m. Friday while they searched the house in the 17900 block of Sunrise Drive. After a five-hour search, eight pounds of explosives and a cache of weapons and ammunition were found in the house, authorities said.

Ducoulombier said officers responding to an informant’s call swarmed the house and rescued a La Puente couple who were reported missing Thursday.

“Sometime (Thursday) night, an informant called and said he knew where the victims were being held,” Ducoulombier said. “The deputies arrived at the home at about 1:30 a.m.”

Deputies arrested Ming Ching Lin, 36, and his wife, Pifen Lo, 36, , along with their housekeeper, You Yu, 56, and a baby-sitter, Yu Chu, 33. The couple’s three children--a 14-year-old boy and two younger children--were also taken into custody, Ducoulombier said.

Ducoulombier said that while searching the residence for other possible victims, deputies discovered components for explosives.

“They recovered fuses, caps and electrical matches,” he said.

The sheriff’s bomb squad searched the house after one of the suspects told them that the house contained explosives and was booby-trapped. Ducoulombier said several shotguns and handguns were hidden in the home. After a thorough search of the house, the garage and the family’s three vehicles, authorities concluded that there was no trap.

About 200 neighbors living around the cul-de-sac were evacuated and the Red Cross set up a temporary shelter at nearby Rowland Elementary School. Red Cross authorities said that only a few families went to the shelter because many residents either went to work or to the homes of relatives.

“I really thought our house was going to blow up and stuff,” said 8-year-old Michael Chu, whose family lives next door to the Lin house.

Ducoulombier said deputies were investigating to determine a motive for the alleged kidnaping and to find out why the occupants were keeping explosives and weapons in the home.