Cygnet man held on $250,000 bond for school threat

10/26/2013

NORTH BALTIMORE, Ohio — Bond was set at $250,000 for a Cygnet, Ohio, man accused of sending a letter threatening to blow up a school to the North Baltimore Local School District board of education earlier this month.

Dwight Bower, 57, was arraigned Thursday at Bowling Green Municipal Court on a charge of inducing panic and was ordered held pending a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, according to the Wood County Sheriff’s Office.

He was arrested without incident Wednesday, charged with inducing panic, and booked into the Wood County jail, North Baltimore police Chief Allan Baer said.

“This case was of great concern to the police department and especially the parents, children, and staff of our schools,” Chief Baer wrote in a statement. “We are fortunate that we were able to bring this case to a swift and successful conclusion. The residents deserve closure.”

The letter was received by the board Oct. 3, Chief Baer said. An ensuing search of the Powell Elementary School and North Baltimore High School and Middle School buildings for anything suspicious turned up nothing, but the schools remained on alert the next day.

North Baltimore, in Wood County, is about 32 miles south of Toledo.