Dog Triggers Bomb Scare at Air Station

A Miramar Naval Air Station entrance was closed and nearby homes were evacuated for more than an hour Tuesday when a military police dog signaled its handler that a civilian car contained explosives, a Navy spokesman said.

Knowing that the dog had a 100% reliability rate for substance detection and that the dog’s signal is considered unusual, explosive-disposal experts were brought in from North Island about 12:45 p.m. to search the car, Chief Petty Officer Bobbie Carleton said.

Navy personnel closed Miramar’s north entrance and evacuated eight duplexes housing military families during the 80-minute search, which revealed no explosive material.

“The sensitivity of these type of detection dogs is very high, so residue from an explosive substance on the seat of the car, for example, would have caused that dog to alert,” Carleton said.

The 3-year-old German shepherd was stationed at the gate as part of a periodically conducted random search for drugs, contraband, explosives and stolen property.

The car, which belongs to a woman visiting the base, had recently been stolen and recovered, Carleton said.