Cape May County Sheriff's K-9 Unit
By Donald Wittkowski
Ocean City police shut down two blocks of the Boardwalk for more than an hour Tuesday to investigate a bomb threat made against a food store.
The Boardwalk between Ninth and 10th streets was reopened at 6:10 p.m. after no explosives were detected at the Curly Fries store by a bomb-sniffing dog from the Cape May County Sheriff's Department K-9 Unit.
"No explosives were located and nothing suspicious that would indicate a credible threat was found," the Ocean City Police Department said in a statement.
Capt. Steve Ang said the bomb threat was called in to the Police Department at 4:45 p.m. targeting the Curly Fries store on the Boardwalk's 900 block.
"The caller sounded like a younger man who was attempting to disguise his voice using a Middle Eastern accent," the police statement said.
As a precaution, all Boardwalk stores between Ninth and 10th streets were evacuated and the area was cordoned off to bystanders and pedestrians.
"Merchants and patrons on the Boardwalk were very understanding and the evacuations were executed quickly and without incident," police said.
Members of the Ocean City police and fire departments responded to the scene, as well as the Cape May County Sheriff's Department K-9 Unit.
The bomb-sniffing dog thoroughly searched Curly Fries before the decision was made to reopen the Boardwalk stores between Ninth and 10th streets.
Ang said police are trying to trace the origin of the caller who made the bomb threat. Anyone with information about the incident is urged to call the Ocean City Police Department at (609) 399-9111.
"We take everything seriously," Ang said of the bomb threat.
