=20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2001/12/24/n= ational1400EST0535.DTL ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Monday, December 24, 2001 (AP) Bullet found outside gate at Fort Lauderdale airport; concourse closed for = two hours (12-24) 11:00 PST DANIA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A bullet found outside a gate at Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport prompted authorities to evacuate a busy concourse Monday, delaying flights up to three hours. A passenger discovered the small-caliber bullet at about 7:40 a.m. outsi= de the gate leading to Spirit Airlines Flight 604 to New York's LaGuardia Airport, FBI spokeswoman Judy Orihuela said. The passenger alerted sheriff's deputies who were providing security at the airport. Deputies evacuated the concourse and searched for weapons using dogs but found nothing, Orihuela said. No arrests were made. Police searched the bags of passengers on Flight 604, and two planes loaded with passengers awaiting takeoff were ordered back to the terminal. Airport spokesman Jim Reynolds said the concourse reopened after about t= wo hours, but some flights were running about three hours late. "This will have a ripple effect throughout the day," Reynolds said. "Fortunately, this is not the most heavily traveled day of the holidays. These are last-minute travelers." =20 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2001 AP