9:20 p.m.

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. — A passenger on a Maine-to-New York Greyhound bus surrendered to authorities tonight after a nine-hour standoff sparked by a bomb scare.

Additional Photos

A text message exchange between Bates College student Abby Samuelson and Megan McClelland. Samuelson and a friend drove to Portsmouth to pick up McClelland, a fellow student and ski team member, who was taking the bus to her home in Lake Placid, N.Y. Samuelson and Knowles said they headed to Portsmouth after McClelland began sending them text messages about a bomb scare. Photo by Ann Kim/Staff Writer

The man walked off the bus with his hands up and got to his knees. He then walked away from the bus, apparently following orders from police.

The 16 other passengers and driver on the bus, which was surrounded by a bomb squad and sharpshooters, including one in an armored vehicle, had been removed hours earlier.

The ordeal began this morning, when one of the passengers called 911 to report an explosive device on board.

The 911 call came after the bus arrived in the seaside city of Portsmouth around 11:30 a.m. and was “based on someone’s observations,” police Capt. Mike Schwartz said. It was unclear which passenger made the call.

Greyhound spokeswoman Maureen Richmond said the driver properly parked and secured the bus and got out. Police surrounded the bus and evacuated nearby buildings and streets.

The passengers were on the parked bus for more than two hours before police started calling most of them out under the watch of a sharpshooter. They left the bus separated by a couple of minutes each and carried no purses or bags. Most held their hands aloft as they passed officers with their weapons drawn.

The passengers were screened individually when they got off the bus — much like an airport security check — and were taken to the Portsmouth police station. None appeared to be injured as they left the bus; Schwartz said one was taken to a hospital because of a medical condition.

The last man, who police said was wearing camouflage pants, remained aboard and communicated with police during the standoff.

Some of the other passengers finally resumed their trip on a replacement bus just before 8 p.m., more than an hour after the original bus had been scheduled to arrive in New York City.

6:11 p.m.

Portsmouth police investigate bomb threat on bus

PORTSMOUTH, N.H. —  The passengers on a Greybound bus involved in a bomb scare here include several people from Westbrook, Lewiston, Waterville and Bangor.

Police say someone aboard the bus carrying 17 passengers called 911 and reported an explosive device on board, leading police to surround the vehicle and evacuate nearby buildings and streets.

The 911 call came after the bus’ arrival in Portsmouth around 11:30 a.m. and was “based on someone’s observations,” Police Capt. Mike Schwartz said. He had not heard of any threat being made.

Police were in contact with people on the bus, but it was unclear why they remained on board for more than two hours before they started to leave. They left the bus one by one – separated by a couple of minutes each – and carried no purses or bags. Most held their hands aloft as they passed officers with their weapons drawn.

Scwartz said one of the passengers who got off the bus was taken to the hospital with a “medical condition” that did not appear to be the result of an assault or other physical injury directly related to the incident.

One passenger remained on the bus this evening. By 5:30 p.m., police had sent at least two robotized devices to the bus, according to Seacoastonline.com

Five people — two men and three women — were waiting at the Waterville Greyhound station on Airport Road and boarded the bus when it arrived at 7:30 a.m. this morning, according to agent Priscilla Clark at the station. 

Clark said she didn’t notice anything suspicious about the people boarding the bus. The identities of the passengers were not known.

In Bangor, the clerk at the desk this morning, John Everett, said he sold three or four tickets – one to Augusta and a couple to Boston. He said nobody stood out.

Everett described this morning as a “typical day. Sold a couple of tickets.” He said: “Unfortunately they don’t really have any sort of security. They do randomly screen people in major cities, but not in Bangor.”

He said the driver of the bus comes to Bangor a couple times a week. Everett described him as “a real nice guy” and a good father. Everett texted the driver to see if he was OK but hadn’t heard back by mid-afternoon.

There were three unidentified officers at the Bangor depot this afternoon and one from the Bangor Police Department.

The passengers were screened individually when they got off the bus – much like an airport security check – and were to be taken to the Portsmouth police station. None appeared to be injured as they left the bus.

Outside the police station, friends of passengers waited for police to finish their interviews.

Paul Mowatt of Westbrook was waiting for his fiance, Melissa Cunningham, also from Westbrook. Mowatt said Cunningham was going to be visiting her mother in Connecticut.

She called him from the bus on her cell phone about pulling over and said an evacuation was going on outside the bus in downtown Portsmouth. Mowatt said he hasn’t been able to communicate with her since the call. He said when his fiance is released, “I’ll take her to Connecticut, but she’s not going on a bus.”

Two Bates College students, Abby Samuelson and Ingrid Knowles, were waiting to pick up a fellow student and ski team member, Megan McClelland, who was taking the bus to her home in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Samuelson, 22, and Knowles, 21, said they headed to Portsmouth after McClelland began sending them text messages about a bomb scare.

“I dropped her off at the bus station this morning,” Samuelson said. “I feel kind of guilty.”

Another passenger, Danielle Everett if Poland, Maine, was riding the bus to Bridgewater, Mass., where she was to attend school. Her father, Daniel Everett of Plymouth, Mass., said his daughter called him on her cell phone from the bus but did not seem too frightened because it was unclear to her what was happening.

“So much has changed in the last 10 years…I think now in society, we’re better off over-reacting,” he said of the incident.

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