Students return following threat

RITZVILLE - A local student and another juvenile in Iowa may face charges in the Thursday, Oct. 5, bomb threat that prompted local leaders to shutter schools.

Police Chief Dave McCormick said Monday that there was never a real threat here, but that local school officials and law enforcement never take any chances.

According to the chief, the FBI is awaiting a search warrant for Snapchat accounts connected to the threat.

The bomb threat was sent via email to a school official about 4 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 4, the chief said. But that official didn't see the email to about noon Thursday.

There was nothing in the body of the email, just a note in the subject line that said a bomb was sent to Lind-Ritzville High School at 2:31 p.m., he said.

When the email was opened and read, school leaders sent students home and shut down both Ritzville Grade and Lind-Ritzville High schools.

The buildings are adjacent to each other along East Wellsandt Road, but the threat only targeted the high school.

Sports activities planned for the campus that day were also rescheduled.

Ritzville and Othello police, Adams County Sheriff's Office deputies, city ambulance and road crews, and two K-9 bomb units from Fairchild Air Force Base responded.

Teachers searched their class rooms for anything unusual, and the K-9 units checked common areas, such as Gilson Gymnasium.

"They found nothing," McCormick said.

Ritzville officer Matt Carlson began the investigation and contacted Google, providing the company with a search warrant to locate the Internet Protocol address of the email.

That address was traced to a Snapchat account in Iowa, McCormick said. The owner of that account had been communicating with a Lind-Ritzville High School student.

"We are currently waiting for a little more information to write a search warrant for that person," he said.

Other details on how the connection was made were not released as the investigation is ongoing.

Once the investigation is completed, the local teenager may face criminal charges, he said. The FBI will address potential charges for the juvenile in Iowa.

"There never was a danger," McCormick said. "There was a disruption."

Superintendent Don Vanderholm said his staff doesn't take any threat lightly.

"Student safety is our first priority," Vanderholm said. "We took immediate action to evacuate the campus."

Classes resumed Monday as usual; students had Friday off due to a previously scheduled in-service day for teacher training and preparation.

Vanderholm thanked law enforcement, first responders, school district employees and parents for making sure students returned home safely.

"Forensic specialists are working on our behalf to address this inexcusable act and bring the perpetrator(s) to justice," the superintendent said. "Sadly, we are not the only regional schools being impacted by swatting/hoaxing/bomb-threats."

Reports of a similar threat at Colfax High School are unfounded, Colfax Superintendent Jerry Pugh said.

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