Lookout posted for man linked to fuel tankers

Law enforcement officials have stepped up efforts to find a man reported to have asked suspicious questions about fuel tankers at sites in Georgia and Florida.

In a bulletin released to the public, officials of the nationwide Highway Watch program asked truckers and other transportation professionals to "be on the lookout" for a "person of interest" who approached tanker drivers in Ringgold, in northwest Georgia, and at two sites in Florida — Fort Myers and Tampa — asking about tankers and fuel deliveries.

Officials said they are redoubling efforts to locate the man after analyzing several similar reports, including two in which photographs were taken of tanker truck equipment.

Witnesses said the incidents appeared to involve the same man, said John Willard, spokesman for Highway Watch, a program that trains truck drivers and others on how to spot and report suspicious activities on the roadways. The volunteer program works with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and local law enforcement on combatting terrorism.

The Florida incidents occurred last spring, and the Georgia example was reported more than a year ago.

The man sought for questioning is described as in his 50s and having a dark complexion and black wavy short hair. The Highway Watch program released on its Web site (https://www.highwayisac.org/) a security camera photo of the man taken at a Fort Myers gas station last April. Despite the renewed focus on identifying the man, the "lookout" bulletin gave an incorrect name for the city where the Georgia incident occurred. The bulletin referred to "Ringo, Ga." Officials said they would correct the error.

In the Georgia incident, an employee of the Florida Rock and Tank Line in Ringgold said that a man fitting that description had taken pictures of fuel tanker trucks, said Special Agent Jim Myers of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement. Myers is part of a regional anti-terror task force.

Don L. Rondeau, director of the Highway Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which assesses the tips provided by Highway Watch, said the center concluded that the various incidents could be related.

"Either this person is doing nothing wrong — or it's something that we need to take a harder look at," Rondeau said.

Rondeau said that several other reports of suspicious incidents in Florida, including one in Boca Raton, last June, are still being evaluated. He said security officials have not conclusively linked those reports to the individual being sought.

In the meantime, he said, "There's a guy who's ... looking at the underside of tankers," Rondeau said. "We're not going to stop pushing on this."