Regal factory shut down Tuesday for bomb threat
March 2, 2016
Charlea Estes
The Regal Beloit factory on Old Sale Barn Road in Cassville was shut down temporarily yesterday afternoon when someone called in a bomb threat to Barry County E9-1-1.
According to Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly, the call came in around 2:30 p.m. “The call came in to 911 from a male subject that a bomb was going to go off at Regal between 6 p.m. and midnight. So we got officers on the scene and evacuated everyone. The first shift was almost over, so there weren’t many employees on site; most of them had gone home. The supervisors got in contact with the second shift to let them know.”
The Barry County Sheriff’s Department, Cassville Police Department, Cassville Fire Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol all worked to close off the road, secure the area and check the building. Epperly said that they also brought in two bomb dogs, one from Springfield and one from Jasper County, to look for an explosive. Neither dog hit on any indication of a bomb, and the building was cleared just after 6 p.m.
Epperly said, “We took the plant manager and some supervisors and did a walk through to see if there was anything out of line.”
He added, “A place like that, looking for a suspicious bomb is hard because everything has motors and wires. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” There was no indication by any part of the investigation that the bomb threat was legitimate.
Epperly said, “You’ve got to take it seriously even though it might just be a disgruntled employee; 99.9 percent of the time, it’s nothing, but we always check.” Epperly had officers patrol the area all night to be safe, even after the building was deemed safe.
Now, Epperly is having the plant manager and supervisors listen to the 911 recording to see if they recognize the voice that called in the threat.
Epperly added, “It’s just good that nothing happened.”
Charlea Estes
The Regal Beloit factory on Old Sale Barn Road in Cassville was shut down temporarily yesterday afternoon when someone called in a bomb threat to Barry County E9-1-1.
According to Barry County Sheriff Mick Epperly, the call came in around 2:30 p.m. “The call came in to 911 from a male subject that a bomb was going to go off at Regal between 6 p.m. and midnight. So we got officers on the scene and evacuated everyone. The first shift was almost over, so there weren’t many employees on site; most of them had gone home. The supervisors got in contact with the second shift to let them know.”
The Barry County Sheriff’s Department, Cassville Police Department, Cassville Fire Department and Missouri State Highway Patrol all worked to close off the road, secure the area and check the building. Epperly said that they also brought in two bomb dogs, one from Springfield and one from Jasper County, to look for an explosive. Neither dog hit on any indication of a bomb, and the building was cleared just after 6 p.m.
Epperly said, “We took the plant manager and some supervisors and did a walk through to see if there was anything out of line.”
He added, “A place like that, looking for a suspicious bomb is hard because everything has motors and wires. It’s like looking for a needle in a haystack.” There was no indication by any part of the investigation that the bomb threat was legitimate.
Epperly said, “You’ve got to take it seriously even though it might just be a disgruntled employee; 99.9 percent of the time, it’s nothing, but we always check.” Epperly had officers patrol the area all night to be safe, even after the building was deemed safe.
Now, Epperly is having the plant manager and supervisors listen to the 911 recording to see if they recognize the voice that called in the threat.
Epperly added, “It’s just good that nothing happened.”