Police say the backpack did not contain explosives

A Greyhound bus was evacuated for about five hours Thursday morning

in Baker City while police investigated a suspicious-looking backpack

abandoned by a passenger who left the bus near Pendleton earlier in the

day.

Oregon State Police bomb technicians were called after police

discovered a backpack with a clock attached to it, said Baker City

Police Lt. Brian Harvey.

The bomb squad used explosives to detonate the backpack, but they

determined that it did not contain any explosives when it was left on

the bus, Harvey said.

“We just wanted to be much more on the safe side,” he said, noting that passengers said they appreciated the way the incident was handled despite the five-hour delay to their travels.

The backpack was left on the bus by Arsenio Flores-Jovelar, 41, of Portland. Umatilla Tribal Police arrested him Thurday on a Multnomah County warrant, Harvey said. Flores-Jovelar is being held at the Umatilla County Jail in Pendleton and will be returned to Multnomah County, a spokeswoman at the jail said today.

Flores-Jovelar boarded the Greyhound bus at Portland with a ticket and checked luggage bound for Miami, Harvey said. He left the bus when the driver, Lon Servello, made an unscheduled stop to chain-up at the Arrowhead Travel Plaza at Mission, just east of Pendleton. Whiteout conditions were reported over Meacham Thursday morning, Harvey said.

Servello told police that he confronted Flores-Jovelar, but was unsuccessful in trying to persuade him to remain on the bus. Other passengers said the Portland man was distraught and became upset while talking on the phone during the trip.

Passengers also told police that Flores-Jovelar was heard to say, “I’m sorry,” as he got off the bus and left the backpack and some of his other baggage behind, Harvey said.

Servello called 911 to report the unusual behavior and continued on to Baker City. Harvey said police have worked with the driver frequently in his travels through Baker City when he’s reported other suspicious behavior.

“I want to commend the Greyhound driver,” Harvey said. “I think he handled things well and used great decision-making.”

Police were called at 8:12 a.m. Thursday and made the decision to evacuate the bus to ensure passenger safety, Harvey said. Passengers waited at the Baker Truck Corral while the bus was moved to a vacant lot to await the bomb squad’s arrival.

The bus was returned to the Truck Corral by 1:10 p.m. to board passengers and continue its eastbound trip, Harvey said.