Ferries Delayed While Empty Bag X-Rayed

Wed., Nov. 29, 2000

From Staff

A suspicious suitcase found aboard the state ferry Walla Walla prompted ferry officials to take both Seattle-Bremerton car ferries out of service for about two hours Tuesday evening.

The suitcase was X-rayed by a bomb squad and found to be empty, said Trooper Glenn Tyrrell of the Washington State Patrol.

The suitcase was found in the passenger cabin about 6:15 p.m. by a crew member after passengers had disembarked in Bremerton and the ferry was starting to load for the return trip to Seattle, Tyrrell said. Nobody claimed the suitcase after an announcement was made over a public-address system, so the ferry was evacuated and the patrol’s bomb squad was called.

The suitcase had a name on it and a luggage tag indicating a connection to Israel, but no address, Tyrrell said.

The second car ferry on the route, the Kitsap, also was pulled from service as a precaution.

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