Fayette schools inquiry into bomb threat, Bitcoin ransom ends for now with no arrest

All leads have been exhausted and the investigation into September bomb threats that evacuated four Lexington high schools has concluded without arrest, “pending any further information received,” a district official said Monday.

The bomb threat that prompted the evacuation of four Lexington high schools on Sept. 21 came with a demand for a $500,000 payment to a Bitcoin account, school officials have said.

Shortly after noon that day, Fayette County Public School officials received an anonymous message through the district’s STOP tip line that bombs had been placed on four high school campuses. The message demanded a $500,000 ransom payment to a Bitcoin account.

The unusual nature of the threat, the specific information it contained and the condensed timeline for response prompted officials to immediately evacuate all four high schools: Henry Clay, Frederick Douglass, Lafayette and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

“At this time all leads have been exhausted and the investigation has concluded without arrest, pending any further information received,” district spokewoman Lisa Deffendall told the Herald-Leader Monday evening.

“We are grateful to the Lexington Police Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Kentucky Office of Homeland Security, and Commonwealth Office of Technology for their efforts in collaboration with the Fayette County Public Schools Police Department to investigate the bomb threats,” Deffendall said.

Anyone with information that could help authorities solve the crime should contact Bluegrass Crime Stoppers or by calling 859-253-2020, she said.