Free Republic

PLAGUED BY FEAR: Second of seven parts Vials reported missing and feds swarm in Previously: At a time when the government was on alert for bioterrorism attacks, Texas Tech University researcher Dr. Thomas Butler was working with federal officials to confirm the effectiveness of an antibiotic against plague. On Jan. 11, 2003, Butler discovered that 30 vials of plague bacteria from his laboratory were missing. Monday, March 27, 2006 John Mangels Plain Dealer Reporter The day was almost over when the astonishing phone call came in to the Lubbock FBI office. It was Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2003, around 5 p.m....

Plagued by fear: First of seven parts Dr. Thomas Butler was the government's go-to guy if you were worried about a plague attack - and in the hair-trigger months after Sept. 11, 2001, a lot of federal officials were. For parts of three decades, he had treated the Black Death's bloated victims in the Third World. He'd plumbed the bacteria's dark secrets in university labs in Cleveland, and later in Lubbock, Texas, searching for better ways to blunt its lethal kiss. After Jan. 11, 2003, none of that mattered. Sunday, March 26, 2006 John Mangels Plain Dealer Science On a...