Backpack Causes Alarm at White House

April 13, 2001 Washington Post

A Winnie the Pooh backpack, abandoned along a White House fence, brought the tourist scene there to a screeching halt yesterday afternoon.

The sidewalk along Pennsylvania Avenue was shut down. A police dog sniffed at the backpack. Soon, officers had cleared the street and the sidewalk across the street. A crowd gathered, everyone staring at the little pink backpack with a Teletubby doll hanging off the strap.

After an hour, a military representative attached to the Secret Service -- dressed in a padded bomb-squad suit -- walked over to the bag and slowly unzipped it, police said. He gave a thumbs-up.

The bag was empty.

Police and the Secret Service say they don't know whom the backpack belonged to.

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