Update: No Bomb Found at Arkansas Butterball Plant
By: KFSM News
Updated: May 16, 2012
(Ozark, AR) - Ozark, Ark., Police Chief Cory Tedford says no bomb was found at the Butterball Plant early Wednesday morning.
The Bentonville, Ark., bomb squad brought a bomb-sniffing dog to search the facility, but found nothing.
Employees of the plant have since returned to work. There is no word yet whether employees will be paid for the time they spent while the building was evacuated.
"We as an agency will not seek a restitution necessarily," Chief Tedford said. "There will be, I'm sure, several thousands of dollars lost in production for the company and we will seek restitution or some sort of compensation for the company."
Police say no suspects have been identified at this time, but they are working on tracing the call. Chief Tedford did not elaborate on what the caller said, but said the message was brief.
According to Franklin County, Ark., Sheriff Anthony Boen, 911 dispatchers were notified the plant received a bomb threat just before 4 a.m. The plant was evacuated and a perimeter was setup around the plant.
Chief Tedford says there was only a small crew of about 20 employees at the plant when the call came in. The employees stayed at Gar Creek Park while the threat was investigated.
Butterball officials issued a statement on the incident saying:
"This morning, Butterball's Ozark, Ark., facility received a threatening phone call. Upon receiving the call, the plant leadership followed Butterball's pre-determined plan of action and evacuated all employees. The Ozark Police and Fire departments are on site and leading an investigation. We continue to work with the Ozark Police Department and will provide an update when more information becomes available. Our focus remains on the safety of our employees."
