THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, May 4, 1996 TAG: 9605040347
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: STAFF REPORT
LENGTH: Short : 34 lines
A $25,000 reward is being offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the saboteur who cut telephone cables that, in part, handle 911 emergency calls in Virginia Beach and Chesapeake.
GTE Corp., which serves telephone customers in Western Tidewater as well as parts of Virginia Beach and Chesapeake, announced the reward Friday.
John Wallace, a GTE spokesman in Mechanicsville, said a major fiber-optic cable running between Great Bridge in Chesapeake and Shipps Corner in Virginia Beach was deliberately cut in two places Wednesday night.
``It is unconscionable that an individual or individuals would be so reckless,'' Wallace said.
The cable was above ground in the two places, within a mile of each other, where it was sliced. The cuts were ``clean,'' indicating that someone deliberately sliced the lines.
Chesapeake and Virginia Beach police are investigating the incidents and the FBI has been notified.
``Fortunately, we have alternate routes in place that are also capable of serving our customers' telecommunications needs,'' Wallace said, ``and we were able to redirect traffic to those alternates quickly.''
Anyone with information is asked to call police in Virginia Beach or Chesapeake. by CNB