Feds: Ricin not linked to terrorist activity

SALT LAKE CITY -- The FBI searched a home in Utah and three storage units linked to a man possibly sickened by the deadly toxin ricin that was discovered in his motel room, but remained quiet Monday about what they found.

In a statement, the FBI said only that the search had concluded and there was no health threat discovered at the home or the storage units.

Authorities believed they had recovered all of the ricin in several vials found last week from the Las Vegas Strip motel where Roger Von Bergendorff had stayed, but they wanted to also check the home in Riverton, where Bergendorff had lived.

Authorities believed they had recovered all of the ricin, but as a precaution they wanted to also check the home in Riverton, where Bergendorff had lived with a cousin, Thomas Tholen.

More Coverage Video Feds Search Utah Home in Ricin Case

Nearby homes were evacuated Sunday as FBI agents in hazardous-material protection suits meticulously searched Tholen's house.

Tholen declined to comment Monday when reached by telephone. He said he had not spoken with investigators.

Aside from the lack of any health threat, no details from the searches had been disclosed. Fuhrman repeated Sunday what authorities have said for days: "There is no indication of any terrorist act or activity."

Bergendorff, the focus of the investigation, had lived in the house for more than a year before moving to Las Vegas about a year ago, said Tammy Ewell, who lives across the street.

Von Bergendorff has been hospitalized since Feb. 14. He has been unconscious, so police and the FBI have not been able to question him about the ricin. Health officials are still trying to confirm whether Von Bergendorff's respiratory ailment stemmed from ricin exposure.

As little as 500 micrograms of ricin, an amount about the size of the head of a pin, can kill a human, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The only legal use for ricin is cancer research.

Fuhrman would not say whether the FBI suspected that Von Bergendorff had manufactured or stored ricin in the home or the rented storage units.

Las Vegas police said that firearms, an "anarchist-type textbook" and castor beans were found in the motel room. The book was tabbed at a spot containing information about ricin.

Fuhrman said investigators were still trying to figure out why Von Bergendorff would have ricin.

Police and health officials have tried to assure Las Vegas residents there is no public health threat. There was no indication of any spread of the deadly substance, they said.