Northwest Iowa authorities look to track down e-mail threats

Authorities in northwest Iowa are tracing e-mail death threats which target five children in Ida County.Battle Creek Police Chief Brian Thompson says someone in Puerto Rico sent the threats which said the students were “going to die” and contained other graphic comments. He says the motive for the threats is still unclear.The five middle school students had all been in the same Internet chat room. It was from there, Thompson says, someone in Puerto Rico apparently lifted their email addresses and sent the threats. Four of the students live in Battle Creek. One lives in Ida Grove. All five are in sixth grade. Chief Thompson says after a court order was issued, hotmail-dot-com provided the information about the origin of the electronic threats. Thompson’s working with the school and the Ida County Sheriff’s Department to ensure the kids remain safe. He doesn’t believe the threats would actually be carried out but -does- intend to pursue and prosecute.Thompson is working with Puerto Rican authorities who he hopes can make an arrest within a couple of weeks.