An Alaska ferry in Juneau was evacuated early Wednesday after a man drove aboard the vessel claiming he had a bomb.
The LeConte was loading around 6:15 a.m. at the Auke Bay terminal for a round-trip sailing to Pelican. That’s when a man drove around the line of cars and boarded the vessel and told crew members he was armed and mentioned a bomb.
“The truck bypassed the purser without checking in and at high speeds, nearly colliding with another vehicle and container,” the state Department of Transportation said in a statement. It added the man began “muttering about bombs and firearms” while trying to climb back into his truck that he had seemingly locked.
“The comment was not a direct threat, nor did the man say he had a bomb, but it created a lot of concern with everyone on the vessel,” the Juneau Police Department said in a statement. “The man then stated that if the ferry employees didn’t back away, he would pull a gun on them. The man then reached into his jacket as though to grab a firearm.”
Coast Guard Lt. Chad Coppin said a 45-foot rescue boat was dispatched to set up a thousand-yard perimeter around the ferry as a precaution. But he said Juneau police searched the vehicle and arrested the man.
“It was a security breach — he shouldn’t have been on the vessel,” Coppin said. “JPD was notified and they came and dealt with it … I believe their bomb squad whoever that was came out and took a look. Our Coast Guard members actually swept the vessel and found no further credible threat. And so they secured the rest of the vessel.”
Juneau police said no bomb was found and the man claimed the whole thing had been a joke. He was identified as 39-year-old Adam Jason Bahr of Juneau. Court records show he faces a single misdemeanor charge of allegedly making threats.
The Alaska Department of Transportation said there were less than 10 ticketed passengers on board at the time. The LeConte’s sailing to Pelican — a village of less than 100 people on Chichagof — was canceled. It’s now scheduled to depart on Saturday, Feb. 13.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with more information. The headline has been updated to clarify the sailing from Juneau to Pelican has been postponed.
