KOMO News
Law enforcement boarded the drifting Victoria Clipper foot ferry in Elliott Bay and took a man in the pilot house into custody, according to reports out of Seattle. Check back for details.
SEATTLE — Seattle police, the Coast Guard, and SWAT teams have been called to Elliott Bay after reports of a suspicious person being on board the foot ferry Victoria Clipper IV that was seen drifting in the water shortly after 7 a.m. this morning.
Witnesses say three black SUVs and a SWAT truck raced through Seattle’s Queen Anne neighborhood an hour later, while two Coast Guard boats escorted a Foss tugboat that was pulling the Clipper further off shore.
Darren Ebberon was watching the scene unfold and said the boat looked as though the boat had lost power and was drifting toward Magnolia from the grain terminal. However, it is unclear whether it did lose power and was adrift.
“We couldn’t see people on the boat,” he said. “They were [drifting] pretty close to a freighter. … It was pretty close.”
Seattle police provided few details, tweeting, “Report of a suspicious person aboard the otherwise unoccupied Victoria Clipper IV. Coast Guard has called in our Bomb Squad. More details soon.”
Police speculate that someone may have tried to steal the boat, but they have not made any contact with the person on board.
The Clipper is currently more than a quarter-mile from shore.
[The Victoria Clipper provides passenger service between Seattle and Victoria. Ferry service between Port Angeles and Victoria is unaffected.]
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