Officers busted a massive drug operation they think could have ties to a similar incident in September.

Pierce County Sheriff's deputies say they saw 31-year-old Mario Cuevas-Alvarez in the woods near a bunch of marijuana plants northwest of Plum City. Investigators chased him on foot, and caught him.

On Saturday, officers got a report of a marijuana processing area in the woods. When they responded, they found the plants, tarps, food and cooking supplies and sleeping bags on private land. When officers came back to arrest Cuevas-Alvarez, they also seized more than 1,000 pot plants and some processed marijuana.

Investigators say $200,000 to $500,000 worth of marijuana, or more may have come from the scene. In September, officers busted an operation that netted more than 180 pounds of pot less than a half-mile from the more recent scene.