Threat halts ferry Spokane

EDMONDS, Wash. – A threatening note found Monday aboard the ferry Spokane – the Edmonds-Kingston ferry across Puget Sound – prompted officials to shut down the run while a bomb squad searched the vessel.

The ferry Spokane was shut down in Edmonds, just north of Seattle, around 9 a.m. after the bomb threat was found in a ferry restroom, said Susan Harris, a spokeswoman with Washington State Ferries. No bomb was found, and the ferry returned to normal service by mid-afternoon, she said.

The ferry, which had just boarded 16 cars and five walk-on passengers, was evacuated, Harris said.

Details of the note’s contents were not immediately available.

The threat was unusual, Harris said, because it was found on board rather than phoned in, which is more typical.

The U.S. Coast Guard secured the area around the ferry. A Snohomish County hazardous materials team, as well as Edmonds police and fire departments, responded to the threat.