Herald staff
KINGSTON — An Edmonds-bound ferry loaded with holiday travelers was evacuated Wednesday when an employee noticed what appeared to be a bomb.
The worker noticed wires and batteries inside a newspaper dispenser aboard the Spokane ferry at about 12:21 p.m. and summoned help, said Washington State Ferries spokesman Larry Keyes.
The ferry, which had just left Kingston on its way to Edmonds, returned to Kingston and unloaded all of its passengers.
A bomb-sniffing dog with the Washington State Patrol checked the dispenser but found no bomb. The wires were later found to be a part of the dispenser, Keyes said.
Apparently, the newspaper dispenser had just been converted from a pay dispenser to a free newspaper dispenser, Keyes said. Some wires and batteries from the original set-up were left showing.
The inspection delayed the ferry for two hours, making already long lines even longer, but it was a necessary precaution, Keyes said.
"A two-hour wait versus somebody getting hurt is probably the issue," he said.
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