EDMONDS - The state ferry terminal at Edmonds was evacuated and sailings on the run were suspended earlier Saturday after a ferry passenger was overheard talking about a bomb.

Edmonds police said the ferry Spokane was being loaded for a sailing to Kingston at about 10:55 a.m. when a conversation was overheard between two drive-on ferry passengers.

One of the passengers was overheard to say, "Let's put the bomb in the trunk," or words to that effect, said Washington State Patrol troopers.

The person who overheard the remark reported it to an Edmonds police officer who was working off-duty at the terminal.

The officer located the passenger who made the remarks about the bomb and took him and his companion into custody for questioning, said Edmonds Police Sgt. Don Anderson.

The passenger who made the remark, a 30-year-old Seattle man with outstanding arrest warrants, told officers that he did not have a bomb in the vehicle, and that the comment was made in jest.

Nevertheless, the ferry was offloaded, the terminal evacuated and a sweep was conducted by a Washington State Patrol bomb detection crew as a standard precaution.

After the investigation was completed and the vessel cleared, boarding was resumed at about 11:45 a.m. Ferries are now operating normally on the route.

The passenger who made the bomb comment remains in custody on the outstanding arrest warrants.

In addition, the Washington State Patrol will be investigating and pursuing the possibility of criminal charges related to this incident.