FBI probes attack on Entergy tower

The FBI has joined an investigation into the attempted downing of an Entergy transmission tower near Arkansas 321 East in southern Cabot.

Authorities said someone climbed 120 feet up an Entergy Arkansas Inc. 500-kilovolt transmission tower near Union Pacific train tracks sometime early Wednesday, attached a steel cable to the metal structure and laid the cable across the tracks.

A train snagged the line, bending a portion of the tower before the cable snapped, authorities said.

No one was injured, and the train and tracks were not damaged, said Raquel Espinoza, a spokesman for Union Pacific.

“We need to get to the bottom of this,” FBI spokesman Kim Brunell said. “We think whoever did this specifically targeted that tower. We think they made frequent visits to the area beforeputting the cable on the tower.”

Agents are asking that anyone who may have seen someone near the tower in an area known as the Holland Bottoms call the FBI office in Little Rock at (501) 221-9100 or the Lonoke County sheriff’s office at (501) 676-3001.

Brunell wouldn’t say if agents considered the attempt to pull down the tower a terrorist attack.

“No one was hurt, but it could have been a lot worse,” she said.

Espinoza said the Union Pacific train crew saw the cable as the train approached but could not stop. She said she could not comment onhow fast the train was going because the case was under investigation.

“Our crew immediately reported it,” she said “A signal group investigated to ensure the tracks were safe.”

Police closed a portion of Arkansas 321 between Lakewood Drive and Kerr Station Road on Wednesday morning and rerouted traffic, including those heading to nearby Southside Elementary School.

No electrical service was disrupted, Entergy spokesman Sally Graham said, and crews rerouted power.

The steel cable was attached to a wire on the tower that holds insulators, she said.

Graham did not know if the other end of the cable was hooked to something else or was just placed across the tracks.

There is no fencing around the transmission tower, which sits just northeast of the Union Pacific train tracks.

“It’s a popular area for hunters,” she said. “We think whoever did this was there checking it out a lot.”

Special agent in charge Randall C. Coleman added in an FBI news release that whoever rigged up the cable had removed bolts from the base of the steel tower.

“This act would have created substantial noise,” Coleman said in the release. “We believe the person responsible is familiar with the Holland Bottoms area. This person may also possess above-average knowledge or skill in electrical matters.”

The FBI is offering a reward of up to $20,000 for information leading to an arrest.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 11 on 08/24/2013

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