Intruder Spotted At Army Depot

Officials at the Deseret Chemical Depot found no trace of a reported intruder at the depot, which stores and destroys chemical and nerve agents, after a terrorist alert was sounded Thursday morning.

"At this time we cannot confirm an intruder. It has been a reported sighting only," said Col. Peter Cooper, commander of the Army depot, during an afternoon news conference.

Four soldiers saw someone during two separate patrols. The person ran away from the officers, Cooper said. No shots were fired.

"We have not been able to get an additional sighting since the incident," Cooper said. "We're talking about the outer boundary ... he never got close to the chemical storage area at all."

Earlier, officials at the depot sounded a terrorist alert after the possible intrusion.

Only one person was spotted within the heavily guarded perimeter, said Sheila Culley, joint information command center manager.

The alarm sounded at 9:24 a.m., and operations were stopped.

The possible intruder was within the fenced area between the stored chemicals and the outer perimeter. Chris Kramer, public information officer with the Utah Department of Public Safety, said the person was seen about one mile north of the incinerator.

In Washington, a senior administration official played down the incident, saying there was no evidence that anything was stolen or that terrorism was involved. The alarm was triggered after somebody reported seeing a trespasser on the premises.

The depot is about 12 miles south of Tooele and 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

It stores chemical and nerve agents such as mustard gas. The depot has been destroying a stockpile of deadly the chemical weapons since 1996.

Wade Mathews, with the Tooele County Emergency Management, said sheriff's deputies have setup a roadblock around the depot.

The Utah Department of Public Safety was using a helicopter to help look for the possible intruder. There have been no evacuations of the depot or surrounding areas, he said.

Earlier this year the depot finished destroying the largest stockpile of sarin nerve gas in the United States.

The depot next will destroy 1,300 tons of VX, a more toxic but less volatile nerve agent that has the consistency of vegetable oil. It's contained in mines, rockets, warheads and aircraft tanks designed to spray a deadly mist.

Finally, the depot will move on to 6,100 tons of mustard gas, a blister agent that can dissolve tissue on contact.