Wilfredo Lee/AP
- A Chicago woman told airport staff there was a bomb in her checked luggage aboard a plane she had just missed, according to officials.
- The plane had to be rerouted and passengers were evacuated while authorities searched the plane.
- Marina Verbitsky, 46, was taken into custody Broward County Jail and faces a count of falsely reporting planting a bomb.
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Officials said a Chicago woman who was late for her flight told staff there was a bomb in her baggage aboard the departed flight, according to Chicago PBS television station WTTW.
The woman has been identified as 46-year-old Marina Verbitsky, a Broward County sheriff's office press release shows, per WTTW. She is accused of making the report on Monday night after airport staff at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport told her that her plane had already left the gate.
The plane, which was already taxiing, had to be rerouted due to the bomb threat, WTTW reported. Passengers were evacuated and no explosives were found, officials from the sheriff's office said.
Verbitsky was taken into custody at the Broward County Jail in southeast Florida, officials said. She faces one count of false report concerning planting a bomb. If convicted, she could have to pay for all costs and damages that arose from the false report, according to Florida's law.
It is unclear if Verbitsky is still in custody. The Broward Sheriff's Office did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Verbitsky was traveling with her husband and son, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
"It was a mistake. She was nervous about the son needing to go to school," an unnamed relative of Verbitsky told the Times.
This is the second false bomb threat reported at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in recent months. In July, a man was arrested for saying he had an explosive in his luggage after a dispute over baggage fees, reported NBC, forcing the airport to evacuate three terminals and halt operations for hours. He was arrested and charged with making a false report concerning planting a bomb, per NBC.
