Michigan State Police said Monday their role in the initial investigation of Sunday’s bomb threat on the Mackinac Bridge is complete.
Mark Giannunzio is the public information officer for the state police in the Upper Peninsula. He said local police were taking the lead in the investigation into the threat that snarled traffic for hours Sunday afternoon and evening.
“The call, it sounds like, originated from somewhere in Mackinaw City, so Mackinaw City Police Department is the lead agency in it,” he said. “They’re handling the investigation. Our part, as of now, is complete.”
According to the Mackinaw City police’s website, the department has a full-time staff of six officers.
Giannunzio said state police are still ready to help if they’re needed.
“We do have a lot of small towns and small police departments in the state,” he said. “We are prepared to offer them assistance at any time.”
Mackinaw City officers referred questions about the investigation to the city’s police chief, who did not respond to phone calls or voicemails.
Giannunzio said, to his knowledge, no one is yet in custody in connection with the bomb threat.
He said state police will review their security policies for the bridge, but he added the span is already heavily patrolled, and he’s not sure whether the police have many additional options for securing it.
“I don’t know how many times our troopers are sent onto the bridge just to patrol it?— just to be out there as a presence?—but, in the end, I don’t know what more you can do without, you know, staging a trooper every 10 feet on the bridge.”
