Briefcase Retrieved at S.D. Zoo Carried Name of Hijack Suspect

SAN DIEGO —  As recently as six weeks ago, a briefcase bearing the name of one of the suspected hijackers was found at the San Diego Zoo, sources said Friday.

The briefcase, filled with an undisclosed sum of cash and documents written in Arabic, was retrieved after it was placed in the zoo’s lost and found, according to a zoo official and a federal law enforcement source.

Authorities were notified of the episode after the attacks last week on the East Coast.

The federal source, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the briefcase was identified as belonging to Hani Hanjour, one of three suspected hijackers who had once lived in the San Diego area and was identified by authorities as being on American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon.

The source did not know the specific contents of the Arabic-language documents or whether they were in any way related to the terrorist plot.

Ted Molter, a spokesman for the zoo, said the metallic case had apparently been forgotten and was recovered by park security.

Unable to immediately find the owner, Molter said, a zoo security guard looked inside. He said zoo officials likely paged the owner of the bag to come pick it up, and it was.

Molter said the FBI was notified of the briefcase last week, following an evacuation of the zoo after the FBI received a “credible threat” that it was targeted for attack.

Although there was no attack, the zoo security officer who found the briefcase thought it worthy of mention in light of the terrorist attacks last week.