Concourse D at Miami International Airport briefly evacuated over suspicious item concerns
MIAMI -- Law enforcement authorities on Friday evacuated Concourse D at Miami International Airport after two police dogs indicated something was suspicious in two boxes, authorities said.
According to a tweet by Miami-Dade police, the North Terminal was evacuated sometime after 9 a.m. when the response by the law enforcement canines to the boxes raised suspicions of other officers.
Police ordered a sweep, which affected passengers traveling through gates D1 through D22.
At least one security checkpoint was closed along with the area around gates 1 through 3.
The airlines operating from Concourse D include American Airlines, British Aiirways
Police gave an all clear around 10 a.m. but authorities said it would take some time for operations to return to normal.
Dillon Geiger and Sarah Strong, who are from Buena Vista, Colorado, were traveling to Colombia with their 3-year-old Blue Heeler when one of the airport K9 units indicated something suspicious in the couple's bag.
The couple told CBS 4 that that's when the bomb squad was called in and their bag opened.
"So we had two bikes that we were going to use," Strong said. "We are headed to Colombia with the bikes and the boxes were ripped open and we also had a sleeping bag inside. They thought a bomb was in there and it was just dog's wax."
Said Geiger: "I was in the Marines and I am a veteran … and they were called in and they went through the box and shredded all our gear and it was exploded in the box."
The couple's travel plans were temporarily interrupted by the police activity but they said they plan to resume their travel later Friday.