MILFORD, Ohio -- A Milford schools employee confessed to writing two letters implying a bomb was hidden somewhere within the district because she was upset with her co-workers, Miami Township Police said.
Katharine Deel, a 24-year-old caregiver at Charles L. Seipelt Elementary, was arrested on Monday and faced charges of inducing panic and obstructing justice in court Tuesday morning.
The letters -- one to police and one to the district -- prompted police patrols outside a number of Milford schools on Friday, Assistant Police Chief Mike Mills said. K-9 units swept each of the schools and found nothing.
"A lot of policeman have children in these schools, so we take this very seriously. There's 6,500 students at these various elementary schools, high schools along with 700 or 800 staff," Mills said. "There's a lot at stake."
Although authorities believed the threats were not credible from the start, "the district takes all threats to the safety of our staff and students seriously," officials said in a news release.
"We take all threats very, very seriously whether it's on social media or whether it comes in the mail, whether it's written on the wall inside a school," said school superintendent Nancy Housed.
According to a letter sent to parents of Milford students Monday night, Deel is no longer permitted on school property and will be recommended for termination at the Sept. 21 school board meeting.
Deel's bond was set at $100,000 in court Tuesday. She'll appear in court again on Sept. 18.
