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| U.S.: Md. Pond Search Yields No Anthrax Clues |
| 2003-06-29 |
| well, that was an expensive FU. Hatfill still the likely candidate? FREDERICK, Md. — FBI agents finished searching a pond for clues in the 2001 anthrax attacks on Saturday, finding no additional evidence to immediately suggest any links to the case. The FBI this month drained the 4- to 5-foot deep pond in the Frederick Municipal Forest, where authorities believed the suspect may have filled the envelopes with deadly spores under water for his own protection. The work drew FBI agents, other law enforcement officials and contractors, who operated dump trucks and backhoes at the site several miles northwest of the city. The Washington Post, citing law enforcement officials, said the FBI took soil samples from the bottom of the pond for testing. Frederick Mayor Jennifer Dougherty said the FBI told her "they found a bicycle, some logs and a street sign," leaving the items for workers to dispose of in a public landfill, the Post reported. Law enforcement officials said other items found in the pond included coins, fishing lures and a handgun, which was handed over to local authorities, according to the newspaper. Dougherty said the FBI told her they were done at the pond. "They are leaving. I don't have any expectation that they'll be back in this area, in the watershed." But she added: "They've given us no indication that they're out of Frederick County." The FBI began draining the one-acre pond in the Frederick Municipal Forest on June 9. The attacks killed five people and sickened 17 others who were infected by anthrax bacteria sent through the mail. The pond is eight miles from the Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases at Fort Detrick, the primary custodian of the strain of anthrax found in envelopes sent to the victims. |
| Posted by:Frank G |