Police Detain Bus Passenger in False Alarm

Police briefly detained, then released, a commuter bus passenger who was suspected by a security guard of being one of several men wanted by the FBI in a false ID case that has heightened terrorism fears.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey stopped a Martz Bus Lines bus Monday morning from East Stroudsburg, Pa., as it was about to enter Manhattan via the Lincoln Tunnel.

A company employee thought he recognized a passenger as one of five men of Middle Eastern descent sought by the FBI for allegedly entering the country illegally from Canada last week, Martz vice president Ted Patton said. Their pictures have been widely publicized.

The man taken from the bus was released because he was not one of the men being sought, Port Authority police said.

The bus continued to New York after a brief delay.