Eugene Police offers $2,500 reward for info on South Eugene High School bomb threats

Miranda Cyr, Register-Guard
·2 min read
Eugene Police Department responds to a bomb threat at South Eugene High School Wednesday, the fourth threat in as many weeks.
Eugene Police Department responds to a bomb threat at South Eugene High School Wednesday, the fourth threat in as many weeks.

After four calls claiming false threats of violence at South Eugene High in the past month, Eugene Police is offering a reward to anyone with information.

The calls have all followed a similar pattern, calling into Central Lane 911 and saying that there was a bomb at the high school. The first three had an automated voice. The fourth call was slightly different, with a male-sounding voice, preceded by a call about a gun then a call about a bomb.

Each of the four threats of violence, the most recent of which was Wednesday, prompted officials to evacuate students or perform a lockdown, with classes being canceled for the day after the first two incidents. After a police search, no bomb or other danger was found after any of the threats.

Similar false threat calls have become a trend nationwide, with schools across the country dealing with disruptions.

The FBI has now taken over the Eugene investigation into the calls, and EPD has taken a backseat in the investigation. The FBI has identified the phone number generating the threats, which linked to a paid service that can make such calls.

On Thursday, EPD announced a $2,500 reward for "credible information that leads to the apprehension of a suspect(s) in the ongoing threat phone messages."

Eugene School District 4J Superintendent Andy Dey said he believes there are students with information about where these calls are coming from or what the motive may be.

"If they feel like they know something, then I would encourage them to say something to an adult in our system. It's very likely that somebody knows a little bit more than what they might have already shared," Dey said. "That would be very good information for us to have."

EPD asks anyone with information to call 541-871-3339.

Miranda Cyr reports on education for The Register-Guard. You can contact her at mcyr@registerguard.com or find her on Twitter @mirandabcyr.

This article originally appeared on Register-Guard: South Eugene High School bomb threats: Reward offered for info