(The following appeared on The (Baton Rouge) Advocate website on April 16.)
HAMMOND, La. — Amtrak’s City of New Orleans was delayed for about 90 minutes Tuesday afternoon after police received a false report of a hostage situation aboard the train, authorities said.
Apparently, a woman called her boyfriend and said she was being held hostage on the train, and he called police around 3 p.m., Hammond Police Chief Roddy Devall said.
The train stopped at Hammond, and passengers were invited to step off while the matter was investigated, Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said.
“The person supposedly in distress was not on the train,” he said.
After a search, the train and its approximately 60 passengers resumed their trip to New Orleans, authorities said.