Posted on 02/12/2002 4:43:35 PM PST by notyourregularhandle
BELLINGHAM - The government is warning us all to be vigilant and be on the lookout for anything suspicious.
One Bellingham woman tried to do just that, but her efforts fell on deaf ears.
Sondra Perkins had just spent 10 days in Atlanta. While at Atlanta's airport waiting to board her flight back to Seattle, she noticed someone acting suspiciously.
She said she tried to report the suspicious activity to airport officials, but they did nothing.
It turned out, the man happened to be on her flight back to Seattle. She says she even tried to tip the flight attendants to her observations.
Again, no response.
When she arrived home in Bellingham later that evening, she started looking at newspapers her husband had saved while she was away.
In the Jan. 17 edition of the Bellingham Herald, she spotted five pictures of men the FBI wanted to talk to.
"There he was," she said. "I'm 99.9 percent certain the man I saw was one of the five."
She says she tried yet again to tip airline officials, the FBI, the FAA -- 10 agencies in all.
Finally, she tried the State Department's Rewards for Justice Tip Line, and sent them a photo she had taken of the man while he was on an escalator at Sea-Tac Airport.
The State Department responded, thanking her for her vigilance and expressing concern that her tip had not received more immediate attention.
Perkins called it "extremely frustrating when all you are trying to do is respond to calls to be vigilant and trying to help the American people."
The Whatcom County Sheriff's office in Bellingham, a city not far from the Canadian border, suggested that anyone who sees suspicious activities go to the FBI Web site and use the Tipline. Or, if they don't have a computer, contact their local law-enforcement agency.
Perkins said she has her own idea.
"What the FBI should do is establish is a single (phone) number nationwide which it can post at airports," she said.
Perkins admits, she could be wrong about the man she saw in Atlanta and who sat on the same flight she took back to Seattle. He may turn out not to be a terrorist.
But she said the whole incident points up the need for a better system by which people can talk to the government and report what they saw.
LMAO!
Maybe this is what made him think she took a picture... :-)
Finally, she tried the State Department's Rewards for Justice Tip Line, and sent them a photo she had taken of the man while he was on an escalator at Sea-Tac Airport.
You're right..there was no picture, there was no person, and there IS NO KOMO NEWS!!!
Is this the same Sondra Perkins mentioned in this story?
"The reports we are getting back from our workers there is that it's the most chaotic situation they've ever seen," said Sondra Perkins of Seattle-based World Concern.and this from here:
http://www.shareamerica.org/news/page2.html
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 30, 1999She may be a bit of an activist and could use the publicity - if it's the same person ...Contact: Sondra Perkins - ph: 206-546-7386, e-mail: sjp@crista.org, web: www.worldconcern.org
WORLD CONCERN HELPS KOSOVO BRACE FOR THE LONG WINTER AHEAD
Seattle, WA - The people of Kosovo are not looking forward to the long, cold winter ahead. Seattle based World Concern, a Christian Relief and Development Agency, announced today plans to feed 5,000 people per day to help thousands of Kosovars survive the first winter in their war ravaged homeland. The complimentary Food Kit program will last for six months, according to spokesperson Sondra Perkins. Distribution will begin October first.
As for the DOJ warnings, it's clear that this administration has more faith in the American people than many people deserve. They should expect the help of the American people. Truckers, store owners, etc., are keeping their eyes open. I for one am glad that they see us as capable and willing to help, not as the left sees us...as helpless and needy. How can you let a terrorist alert frighten you into outrage after witnessing the attacks on 9-11, learning about the terrorist monsters and knowing how many people are risking their lives to protect us both overseas and here at home? I am grateful to never have to sit in on one of the President's daily terrorist briefings and the roster of inhuman threats from our enemies. A few hours at a militant Muslim website, along with the State Dept's record of specific terrorist attacks is enough to give me nightmares and understand the seriousness of our fight. To be responsible for all Americans, and to be commanded by faith to love his neighbors is a burden few of us could handle.
We are the people.
I agree. We ARE the people, so if we HAVE information, i'd like to be taken seriously. You're right, who knows, this woman may be nutso. Maybe this ISN'T a story, but my point is what was mentioned numerous times before...LISTEN UP IF YOU'RE GOING TO ISSUE A WARNING...
Whatever you say Sordo!
And all the more likely to be a 'noticing' sort of person for it. The story here is not the alleged terrorist but the lack of a response from a system supposedly designed to handle exactly such allegations.
There is no Seattle either. And if there is, channel 4 is certainly not KOMO.
If I had to pick one side of this coin (NOT having heard the other side of the story) - I would have to say she probably leans to the nutso side of the whacko-meter scale ...
Again, that's based on way too-little info - BUT it's been my experience with the public ...
Because the FBI didn't try to make this person a national hero doesn't mean they didn't do their job.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.