OHP Finds Owner Of Suitcases That Shut Down Creek Turnpike

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol says a bomb scare that shut down the Creek Turnpike in Jenks was caused by two suitcases which had fallen out of a pickup truck headed to Texas.

Troopers say the suitcases fell out of a truck driven by a Tulsa woman headed to Fort Worth.

A Good Samaritan saw the luggage on the roadway and moved the suitcases onto a walkway at the Jenks toll plaza. Another driver called 911 after seeing that person place the suitcases at the plaza. 

The OHP shut down the westbound lanes of the Creek for almost three and a half hours to investigate.   

Troopers called in the OHP bomb squad. The squad used a robot to x-ray the suitcases and determined there were no explosives inside. Video from SkyNews6 showed troopers looking through clothing packed in the suitcases.

The driver who'd lost the suitcases called the OHP a few hours later after realizing she had lost her luggage. The OHP returned them to her family after she described the contents of the suitcases, confirming hey were hers. 

"This is the best outcome we could possibly ask for in this situation. Although it required some delay for others, we were able to recover some valuable items and return them to their rightful owner. It's always a bad day when you lose luggage, but with the help of a kind hearted passer by and quick actions by investigating troopers and dispatchers, this person was able to receive their lost valuables and this investigation is considered closed," said OHP spokesman Lt. George Brown.

The OTA says it reopened the turnpike shortly before 8 a.m. The closure backed up westbound traffic for miles.