Camden Co. authorities take report on “Middle Eastern” men asking about Bagnell Dam
The Camden County Sheriff’s Office said it took a report about a group of men asking about the Bagnell Dam.
Camden County Public Information Officer Corporal Scott Hines told ABC 17 News the incident happened about two weeks ago at a Golden Corral restaurant in Osage Beach.
Corporal Hines said about a week after the incident a deputy was eating in the restaurant and the wait staff told the deputy about the men.
A member of the wait staff told a deputy that a group of “Middle Eastern” men were asking questions about Bagnell Dam. The men apparently wanted to know if they could rent a boat and tour the dam.
Corporal Hines said the Sheriff’s Office has sent its report to the FBI.
Corporal Hines said the Sheriff’s Office does not have any enhanced security and is conducting business as normal. Corporal Hines said the FBI will notify them if intelligence suggests they should increase security and enforcement.
Corporal Hines said the Camden County Sheriff’s Office is not conducting its own investigation. Hines encourages residents to report any suspicious behavior to the Sheriff’s Office or other local law enforcement.
Hines told ABC 17, “With recent things going on in our country and around the world, people are kind of a little bit more alerted. It’s everyone’s responsibility to watch out for each other. We all live in this community, and we’re going to notice things that seem out of place and if we don’t notify the proper authorities, who will?”
This is just the latest in several reported incidents about suspicious behavior around the state of Missouri. At least five law enforcement agencies across the state have confirmed they took reports in recent weeks about men buying a suspicious amount of pre-paid cell phones at Wal-Mart stores. Authorities in Columbia, Jefferson City, Macon, Ava, and Lebanon all said they sent their reports on the incident to the FBI.
Authorities in Marshall also said they have sent a report about a man buying a suspiciously large amount of laptops from a Wal-Mart Store there.
