Bakersfield airport closed by suspicious bag; honey found inside

CALIFORNIA

Suspect bag closes airport for hours

The Meadows Field airport in Bakersfield, Calif., was shut down for several hours Tuesday after a checked bag set off security alarms. Five soft-drink bottles filled with honey were found in the bag.

Kern County Sheriff Donny Youngblood said the bottles tested positive for traces of the explosive TNT. Two Transportation Security Administration employees who were working near the bag were taken to a nearby hospital, where they were treated and released.

Investigators are trying to determine whether something in the honey or on the bag prompted the alarm, Youngblood said.

The bag's owner, a 31-year-old gardener from Milwaukee, told authorities that he had flown to Bakersfield to spend Christmas with his sister.

Meadows Field is a small airport serving domestic airlines and private aircraft in the San Joaquin Valley, about 100 miles north of Los Angeles.

-- Associated Press

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-- From news services