Seattle Post-Intelligencer
The FBI has called off a global manhunt for two men who looked Middle Eastern and were spotted snapping pictures and demonstrating "suspicious behavior" on a Washington ferry last summer.
The men appeared at a U.S. embassy two weeks ago and identified themselves as European business consultants who were on a trip to Seattle, FBI officials said Monday.
Special Agent in Charge Laura Laughlin said the men took a couple of days off in the middle of the July visit and decided to ride a car ferry. They took photos to show relatives back home, she said.
FBI agents have seen the photos and found them to be innocuous, as was the pair's business activities, according to Laughlin.
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The decision to release the photos was controversial, in part because some news organizations chose not to publish them. The Seattle P-I ruled out publication, citing civil liberties and privacy concerns, which editors felt outweighed the newsworthiness of the images.
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The FBI, in a statement issued Monday, thanked "the many media organizations worldwide that published the photographs and ultimately played a prominent role in resolving this matter, allowing the investigative resources of the multiple law enforcement agencies to be redirected to other important matters."
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