Authorities arrest Sumas woman accused of making false bomb threat to distract police
A Sumas woman accused of making a false bomb threat at a Blaine business in an attempt to lure law enforcement officers away from searching for a suspect in a separate crime has been re-arrested.
Kathleen Rosemarie Fox, 34, was charged Oct. 11 in Whatcom County Superior Court with one count of threat to bomb or injure property, a felony. The charging documents accuse Fox of either threatening to bomb or injure property or of communicating or repeating a bomb threat, while knowing the threat was false, with the intent to alarm people.
Fox was released from the Whatcom County Jail on Oct. 10 on a $100 cash bond, which was posted by a Bellingham man, according to court records.
Fox’s arraignment was scheduled for Oct. 20, but she failed to appear in court. Since Fox did not show up for her court hearing, a warrant was issued for her arrest, her bail was increased to $40,000 and the previous bond she posted was forfeited, court documents show.
Fox was re-arrested on the warrant shortly before midnight Wednesday, Dec. 20.
She was scheduled to make an appearance in court Thursday afternoon. Records from the hearing were not immediately available Tuesday.
Bomb threat
Around 10:05 p.m. Oct. 9, the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office requested assistance from the Blaine Police Department because a male suspect had fled on foot after officers attempted to pull the vehicle he was driving over.
A sheriff’s deputy attempted to stop a vehicle at the dead end of East Street in Blaine, but the male driver fled the vehicle and ran to “a compound of tents and trailers,” according to court records.
Some law enforcement officers remained with the vehicle, while others went to search for the driver. It was then that officers learned that Fox and the driver were dating.
Fox came to the compound, but officers didn’t allow her to go into the area. Fox then began walking away from the area around 10:30 p.m. Three minutes later, a bomb threat at the Blaine Cost Cutter was called in to 911, the court documents state.
The phone number that called the threat into 911 was determined to be associated with Fox. Law enforcement informed the 911 operator they had just spoken with Fox several minutes prior.
When law enforcement pinged the location of the phone associated with Fox, they discovered it was roughly two blocks away from the area where officers were searching for the male driver, court records show.
Officers found Fox roughly two blocks away, in the same location as the phone. Fox denied calling 911 and making a bomb threat, the court records state.
When law enforcement and 911 dispatch operators attempted to call the phone number that had made the bomb threat back, the calls went straight to voicemail.
Officers played the audio from the 911 call back and determined it matched Fox’s voice, and arrested her, the court documents state.
Fox has a previous juvenile conviction for third-degree theft, according to court records.
This story was originally published December 26, 2023 at 12:00 PM.
