(The following article by Juliet Williams was circulated by the Associated Press on October 12.)
OAK CREEK, Wisc. — As federal agents scoured the area where two 80-foot transmission towers toppled over the weekend, the company that owns them offered a $10,000 reward Monday for information about the person who tampered with them.
Oak Creek Police Chief Thomas Bauer said bolts had been removed from the base of at least one of the towers before they fell over Saturday evening, cutting power to 17,000 customers, including Milwaukee’s airport.
American Transmission Company, which owns the towers, offered $10,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of whoever was responsible.
“This is extremely crucial information. This type of activity cannot be allowed to continue,” ATC spokeswoman Maripat Blankenheim said.
Bauer would not say how many bolts had been removed or whether any had been recovered in the thigh-high brush that surrounds the now-crumpled steel towers.
But he said anyone with a common wrench could have removed the standard two-inch bolts that connected the tower to the base. Bauer said investigators were not sure what caused the first tower to fall.
“It does look like it’s for the purpose of weakening the structure so it would fall,” the chief said.
Agents dressed in white jumpsuits combed the area Monday with metal detectors, as other officers walked along the adjacent railroad tracks in search of clues. Bauer said Milwaukee County Sheriff’s deputies and the Milwaukee Police Department were also helping canvas and secure the area.
Authorities have found some evidence, including bolts, they hope will lead them to the culprit, Bauer said. He declined to say what other evidence was found.
Authorities were to expand the search area and continue the search for another 24 hours, Bauer said Monday afternoon. “It is a pristine area so it is difficult,” he said.
FBI Supervisory Special Agent Mike Johnson said the FBI would call up another response team of eight people from Chicago.
Authorities are depending on citizen witnesses to lead them to the culprits, Bauer said. He said anyone who saw something suspicious in the area on Friday or Saturday should notify authorities.
The FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force also was investigating. Destruction of an energy facility carries a federal penalty of up to 20 years in prison.
“We have not determined the motive of this action,” Johnson said. “It may be terrorism, it may not be. It’s just too early to tell.”
The towers fell shortly after a plane carrying Sen. John Edwards, the Democratic vice presidential nominee, landed at Mitchell International Airport, but Johnson said there was no evidence of a connection.
The outage shut down screening equipment at the airport Saturday night and flights were delayed as passengers and luggage was hand screened, said Pat Rowe, airport spokeswoman.
Downed wires lay across the railroad tracks for much of the day Sunday, putting passenger and freight trains from Amtrak and Canadian Pacific Railroad on hold for 26 hours, Bauer said. The trains resumed at 7 p.m. Sunday, after authorities cut the wires.