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FBI Seeks Identity of Two Men Seen Aboard Washington State Ferries
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The FBI is seeking the identity and whereabouts of these two men.
http://www.foxnews.com/images/305350/0_61_082207_ferry1.jpg
http://www.foxnews.com/images/305350/0_62_082207_ferry.jpg
The FBI released photographs of two men Monday who have been seen on
Washington state ferries "exhibiting unusual behavior" and asked the public
for help identifying them.
The agency's Seattle field office, along with the Washington Joint
Analytical Center, was still seeking the men's identities and whereabouts
Wednesday as ferry service was temporarily shutdown when a suspicious
package was found in a ferry bathroom and taken away by authorities.
"We had various independent reports from passengers and ferry employees that
these two guys were engaging in what they described as unusual activities on
the ferries," Special Agent Robbie Burroughs, a spokeswoman for the FBI in
Washington state, told FOXNews.com.
"They felt that these guys were showing an undue interest in the boat
itself, in the layout, the workers and the terminal, and it caused them
enough concern that they contacted law enforcement about it," she told
FOXNews.com.
The two were photographed by a ferry employee about a month ago, and those
photographs were distributed to ferry employees three weeks ago by local law
enforcement.
"We decided that we would go to the public to see if we could get some help
in identifying them, so that we could resolve the situation more quickly,"
Burroughs said. "Keeping in mind that their behavior might have been
completely innocuous."
Ferry service was halted Wednesday on one Seattle ferry line during the
morning commute when a suspicious package was found aboard a ferry docked in
the city.
The Washington State Patrol didn't disclose any details of the package that
was found by a crew member in the passenger area of the Washington state
ferry Puyallup, but Sgt. Craig Johnson said investigators determined it
didn't pose any immediate threat and carried it off the vessel for further
examination.
Johnson said no arrests were made and no identified individuals are being
sought, but said the State Patrol would like to find the person who left it
aboard the 460-foot Puyallup.
Marta Coursey, a ferry system spokeswoman, said the Puyallup had just been
emptied of cars and passengers after arriving at Colman Dock from Bainbridge
Island about 8 a.m. when the package was discovered behind the toilet in the
disabled passenger stall in the men's restroom.
Two Seattle-Bainbridge runs were canceled during the package scare.
Following a search and examination by State Patrol troopers, the
2,500-passenger, 202-vehicle capacity ferry was cleared to resume service
about 9 a.m. During the shutdown, service on the Seattle-Bainbridge and
Seattle-Bremerton runs was maintained on the terminal's other main slip.
"Just as any large transportation system would be considered a target by law
enforcement, this is our big transportation system and that's why everybody
here recognizes the fact that it could be a target," Burroughs told
FOXNews.com. "It's something that we're very tuned into, and we monitor
instances on the ferries very closely."
The FBI has received dozens of tips since releasing the photographs of the
unidentified men and is following up on new leads, but they have yet to be
identified as of Wednesday, Burroughs said.
The release of the photos did spark a minor controversy between Seattle's
rival papers, when the Post-Intelligencer decided not to run the photo when
the Times did.
"Running a photograph of two men who may as easily be tourists from Texas as
terrorists from the Mideast with a story that makes them out to be persons
of interest in a terrorism investigation seems problematic, to say the
least," Post-Intelligencer Managing Editor David McCumber said in a blog
Tuesday, noting that "ferry security is hugely important. So are civil
liberties and privacy."
A Times managing editor defended the paper's decision to run the photos on
Tuesday.
"Further reporting helped us more effectively weigh the potential value -
and harm - of publishing the photos," said Suki Dardarian, the paper's
managing editor of news coverage and enterprise. "After some deliberation,
we decided to publish the photographs, along with as much context as we
could bring to the story."
Anyone with information on the identities of the two men is asked to contact
the FBI's Seattle office at 206-622-0460.
FBI Seeks Identity of Two Men Seen Aboard Washington State Ferries
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The FBI is seeking the identity and whereabouts of these two men.
http://www.foxnews.com/images/305350/0_61_082207_ferry1.jpg
http://www.foxnews.com/images/305350/0_62_082207_ferry.jpg
The FBI released photographs of two men Monday who have been seen on
Washington state ferries "exhibiting unusual behavior" and asked the public
for help identifying them.
The agency's Seattle field office, along with the Washington Joint
Analytical Center, was still seeking the men's identities and whereabouts
Wednesday as ferry service was temporarily shutdown when a suspicious
package was found in a ferry bathroom and taken away by authorities.
"We had various independent reports from passengers and ferry employees that
these two guys were engaging in what they described as unusual activities on
the ferries," Special Agent Robbie Burroughs, a spokeswoman for the FBI in
Washington state, told FOXNews.com.
"They felt that these guys were showing an undue interest in the boat
itself, in the layout, the workers and the terminal, and it caused them
enough concern that they contacted law enforcement about it," she told
FOXNews.com.
The two were photographed by a ferry employee about a month ago, and those
photographs were distributed to ferry employees three weeks ago by local law
enforcement.
"We decided that we would go to the public to see if we could get some help
in identifying them, so that we could resolve the situation more quickly,"
Burroughs said. "Keeping in mind that their behavior might have been
completely innocuous."
Ferry service was halted Wednesday on one Seattle ferry line during the
morning commute when a suspicious package was found aboard a ferry docked in
the city.
The Washington State Patrol didn't disclose any details of the package that
was found by a crew member in the passenger area of the Washington state
ferry Puyallup, but Sgt. Craig Johnson said investigators determined it
didn't pose any immediate threat and carried it off the vessel for further
examination.
Johnson said no arrests were made and no identified individuals are being
sought, but said the State Patrol would like to find the person who left it
aboard the 460-foot Puyallup.
Marta Coursey, a ferry system spokeswoman, said the Puyallup had just been
emptied of cars and passengers after arriving at Colman Dock from Bainbridge
Island about 8 a.m. when the package was discovered behind the toilet in the
disabled passenger stall in the men's restroom.
Two Seattle-Bainbridge runs were canceled during the package scare.
Following a search and examination by State Patrol troopers, the
2,500-passenger, 202-vehicle capacity ferry was cleared to resume service
about 9 a.m. During the shutdown, service on the Seattle-Bainbridge and
Seattle-Bremerton runs was maintained on the terminal's other main slip.
"Just as any large transportation system would be considered a target by law
enforcement, this is our big transportation system and that's why everybody
here recognizes the fact that it could be a target," Burroughs told
FOXNews.com. "It's something that we're very tuned into, and we monitor
instances on the ferries very closely."
The FBI has received dozens of tips since releasing the photographs of the
unidentified men and is following up on new leads, but they have yet to be
identified as of Wednesday, Burroughs said.
The release of the photos did spark a minor controversy between Seattle's
rival papers, when the Post-Intelligencer decided not to run the photo when
the Times did.
"Running a photograph of two men who may as easily be tourists from Texas as
terrorists from the Mideast with a story that makes them out to be persons
of interest in a terrorism investigation seems problematic, to say the
least," Post-Intelligencer Managing Editor David McCumber said in a blog
Tuesday, noting that "ferry security is hugely important. So are civil
liberties and privacy."
A Times managing editor defended the paper's decision to run the photos on
Tuesday.
"Further reporting helped us more effectively weigh the potential value -
and harm - of publishing the photos," said Suki Dardarian, the paper's
managing editor of news coverage and enterprise. "After some deliberation,
we decided to publish the photographs, along with as much context as we
could bring to the story."
Anyone with information on the identities of the two men is asked to contact
the FBI's Seattle office at 206-622-0460.
