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Child's Toy Sets Off Bus Search in Iowa

Posted on: Tuesday, 6 April 2004, 06:00 CDT

NEWTON, Iowa - A child's toy in an unmarked box set off a search that resulted in four Greyhound buses being pulled over in Iowa on Tuesday.

A bus driver noticed the box in the baggage compartment during a stop in Lexington, Neb., FBI spokesman Jeff Tarpinian said.

"It looked out of place with the luggage that was on it," Tarpinian said.

The driver notified Greyhound security officials, who pulled the box and notified law enforcement.

Meanwhile, the bus continued on its way, and by the time it reached central Iowa early Tuesday, the FBI had been notified.

The FBI asked the Iowa State Patrol to pull over an eastbound Greyhound bus, but troopers, not knowing which bus to stop, pulled over four of them in the same proximity. The buses were stopped about 10 a.m. on Interstate 80 near Newton.

The owner of the box, a man who taking the toy as a gift to his child, was identified and interviewed, Tarpinian said. No one was arrested.

"They had a passenger off the bus. They didn't have him handcuffed or anything, but they were searching through some bags and they were taking their time," Brendan Callahan, who watched the search, told KCCI-TV in Des Moines. "They weren't saying much to anyone. They were keeping pretty quiet about it."

Back in Nebraska, troopers used a robotic device to open the box, which contained a child's toy.

The buses were stopped for about half an hour. When no threat was found, they were allowed to continue their eastward journey.

The FBI and Homeland Security Department officials said last week they had received uncorroborated intelligence that trains and buses in major U.S. cities may be targeted by terrorists using bombs hidden in bags or luggage.

"We strongly believe the bus driver did the right thing," Tarpinian said. "Did he overreact? No.

"That's what we're looking for from the public in this day and age - that type of precaution, that type of awareness. If something looks out of place, that they contact law enforcement," Tarpinian said.

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