I thought the same thing.
Way too many things that don't add up here.
"And if they were on a bus, how did this guy end up accessing his e-mail?"
Lap-top perhaps?
Re: Accessing e-mail from bus: My husband uses a satellite card, works without a land line. Am not geekish enough to describe it better, I just know I used it from our motorhome a few days ago, and though slow (56K, I think), it got me to FR for a fix.