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Breaking News
Missing School Bus in Berks County, Pennsylvania
Aired January 24, 2002 - 13:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: We will move on. We've got another update here from this breaking story we have been covering this afternoon, the story of a missing school bus in Berks County, Pennsylvania. We are getting some now. The last that we had heard is that this bus is along somewhere, they believe, along route 662, which is also known as the Olney (ph) turnpike road, and this bus is supposed to have shown up at the Berks Christian School in Exeter back about almost five hours ago. The bus never made it.
Joining us now on the telephone is Mark Williams. He is Berks County communications -- he is with the Berks County Communication Center.
And, Mr. Williams, what can you tell us now about this?
MARK WILLIAMS, BERKS CO. COMMUNICATIONS CENTER: Sure, there is no new updates on this, unfortunately. All police departments, local police departments, as well as Pennsylvania state police. We have a few helicopters that are searching for this bus.
HARRIS: How wide of an area are they searching?
WILLIAMS: Excuse me, I'm sorry?
HARRIS: Can you give us an idea of how wide an area they are searching?
WILLIAMS: Probably 10-12 square miles. Probably even more than that. I'm not really positive.
HARRIS: And this is all and down that one particular highway, that Route 662?
WILLIAMS: 662 is one of the main arteries they are checking. But there are several other roads that is in that as well. They do know the route that the bus travels day after day. They started with that and they brought in a search from there.
HARRIS: I'm assuming, and we are saying from what we have been hearing, that this route the bus was traveling from one school to the next, the last location it was seen to the school he was going in Exeter is only a 15-minute trip. That is not that long after stretch of road to cover. You haven't been over every inch of it yet?
WILLIAMS: Well, they have, that particular route. However, they are also checking backroads and side roads, things of that sort.
HARRIS: We also heard that there was a floodwatch in effect in that area up until almost an hour -- almost two hours ago, and that flood watch has since been called off. Is that a factor here at all?
WILLIAMS: I don't believe so. It has been raining. It has been foggy in Berks County today. As far as the weather in the Olney (ph) Valley area, I'm not completely sure at this point. I'm located in the city of Redding, which is probably about 10-12 miles away.
HARRIS: Yes, do you know that it's so foggy that you can't see off the side of the road there?
WILLIAMS: I don't know. Like I said, where I'm at, visibility is good. I can see in the mountain ranges around us that it is foggy in the mountains, and it very well may be foggy in the Olney Valley area also.
HARRIS: All right, Mark Williams, we thank you very much for your time.
WILLIAMS: You're welcome.
HARRIS: And we certainly hope there is a happy ending to this story. And we'll continue to follow this story as it develops.
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