Authorities make arrest in Bigfork bomb scare

Law enforcement officials have made an arrest in relation to a bomb threat at Bigfork High School Monday.

According to information from the Flathead County Sheriff’s Office, after further investigation, a male juvenile was located and taken into custody. The boy’s name is being withheld at this time, and the investigation is continuing.

“Due to the quick response from Bigfork High School and the Sheriff’s Office, details were obtained which led to the quick identification of persons involved,” Sheriff Brian Heino said. “We would like to thank Bigfork Schools for their cooperation in dealing with this public safety event.”

Students were evacuated from Bigfork High School Monday morning after the school received a phone call stating a bomb was inside the building. The threat turned out to be unfounded, according to the Sheriff’s Office, which investigated the incident.

The call came in at approximately 7:20 a.m. from an unknown individual. School officials relocated students from the high school to the cafeteria in the middle school and elementary building and called parents to notify them of the incident.

“Sheriff’s officers worked to clear the school to make sure there were no devices,” Heino told the Daily Inter Lake on Monday. “They didn’t find any other indications of a device in the school and students were back in the building at 9 a.m.”

Bigfork School Superintendent Matt Jensen said the school examined security camera footage recorded over the Thanksgiving break for any signs of unauthorized entry. Jensen said they were able to verify every person recorded in the footage and their activities inside the school, and also observed no entry was made through doors that should not have been accessed.

Deputies searched every classroom inside the building and determined the threat was not credible. Once the high school was cleared, classes resumed as normal, he said.