Three-state search for baby on bus apparently based on misunderstanding

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) -- A three-state search for a baby reportedly left on a New York-bound bus by a woman who hopped off during a stop for gas apparently was a misunderstanding, authorities said Friday.

The search began late Thursday night when a truck driver called police and said that he saw a distraught woman chasing after a bus at a gas station near Interstate 95, Florence County sheriff's Capt. Todd Tucker said.

The woman's bags led the man to think she might have left a baby on board the bus, but authorities said they were unable to confirm whether the woman had a baby with her at all.

By Friday afternoon, Tucker said authorities thought passengers on the bus likely would have reported an unattended child by now. However, he said a nationwide bulletin was planned as a precaution.

The woman, who had trouble speaking English, managed to tell the truck driver she had gotten off a tour bus heading to New York but the bus pulled away before she could get back on, authorities said.

The woman was gone by the time the man ended the emergency call and has not been found, Tucker said. "We don't know if she caught a ride with someone or what."

After the emergency call, the search along the interstate began immediately and spread up to North Carolina and Virginia, where troopers stopped buses early Friday, authorities said.

An official with Greyhound said all the passengers on the company's only passenger bus scheduled to run through the area overnight were accounted for.