Bomb threat at Eastern Iowa Airport ends; suspect in custody

CEDAR RAPIDS - A man is in custody after a bomb threat at the Eastern Iowa Airport in Cedar Rapids early Wednesday morning.

Airport officials said OnStar alerted police around 3 a.m. about a man who had claimed to have an explosive at the airport.

They promptly placed the airport on lockdown, while bomb technicians searched the terminal and the parking lot. No explosives were found.

Police said the 47-year-old suspect was seen at the terminal and then driving westbound on Wright Brothers Boulevard to Edgewood Road and turning north. Authorities took the man into custody shortly after near Highway 30 and Edgewood Road. Nothing suspicious was found in the vehicle, police said.

The lockdown was lifted around 5 a.m.

Some passengers nearly missed their flight.

'We came in and there were cop cars everywhere. We had to wait in line. Then they told us we had to go around. We waited for about 40 minutes. Then, finally, they let us through,” said Emily Dudley of Cedar Rapids.

Police said the suspect was taken to a local hospital for evaluation and faces charges of False Reports, a Class D felony which concerns the placement of explosive or destructive materials in a place where persons or property may be endangered.