Borders? What borders?
Posted on 09/11/2007 1:57:24 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
McALLEN — Three recent bomb threat hoaxes against McAllen-Miller International Airport, including one Monday afternoon, originated from the same location in northern Mexico, authorities said.
The latest incident, which occurred just after 4 p.m., forced passengers and airport employees out into the parking lot while bomb-sniffing dogs swept the terminal. All arriving and departing flights were delayed for more than 30 minutes.
Police say airport officials received an e-mail written in Spanish claiming one bomb was hidden inside the terminal and another was set to go off aboard a Continental Airlines flight arriving from Houston.
“We cleared the building and determined that there was no danger,” city police Chief Victor Rodriguez said. “But we take all threats like this very seriously.”
Monday’s scare was the third threat made under similar circumstances in the past two weeks. No explosives have been found in any of the incidents.
The first, which occurred via e-mail Aug. 31, shut down the airport for more than an hour and stranded three commercial flights on the runway. Emergency responders evacuated the terminal once again on Friday after another e-mail hoax.
FBI agents traced the messages to a city along the Texas-Mexico border within hours of the first threat, but have not yet identified a suspect or motive, according to sources close to the investigation who asked they not be identified because they were not authorized to publicly speak about the case.
Investigators have since pinpointed the exact location but would not name the city from which the e-mails were sent.
But Carol Short, of Dallas, didn’t much care from where the threats were coming as she sweated out part of her Monday afternoon in the airport’s parking lot.
Returning home after a weekend with friends at South Padre Island, she just wanted to know when her plane would take off.
“If I would have known this was going to happen, I would have stayed at the beach,” she said.
Marcela Elias, on the other hand, anxiously paced until airport employees reopened the doors at about 4:30 p.m. The McAllen resident’s parents were among the passengers on Continental Flight 1539, the plane the e-mailer threatened.
As the flight came in for a landing, airport officials isolated it off the runway before unloading passengers. Each was individually searched and loaded onto a bus that took them back to the terminal.
“I just talked to them on the phone,” she said later. “And they said everything is OK.”
Federal and local authorities continue to pursue leads in the case, for which Rodriguez says Mexican authorities have offered their cooperation.
“The problem is that whether it’s three miles away or 300 miles away, it’s still coming from a whole other country,” he said. ____ Jeremy Roebuck covers courts, law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.
"Loose Lips Might Sink Ships", Jeremy !
Family values don’t stop at baggage check-in.
More reasons to wall up the border. Mexterror punks think they can do crap. WRONG!!!!!
¡Las bombas ping!
If you want on, or off this S. Texas/Mexico ping list, please FReepMail me.
All this is OK with the Decider because he cannot risk "relations with Mexico".
Mr. President, you're either with us, or against us. It appears you have chosen your side.
Si, senor - no steeenking borders!
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