A 16-year-old Morenci Area High School student is in custody after making a bomb threat last week.

The youth left two messages on the high school answering machine during the night of May 15 stating the school would be blown up Wednesday.

By Wednesday afternoon, he was in custody at the Maurice Spears Campus. He was later transferred to the Hillsdale Juvenile Corrections facility due to his Hillsdale County residency.

Tracking down the offender turned out to be a simple matter, said Morenci Chief of Police Larry Weeks.

Two school staff members listened to the recording and agreed that it sounded like a particular student. The school’s telephone company was called to obtain the number of the caller.

The cell phone number matched the number provided on the suspect’s school information card. One final check with the cell phone service provider confirmed that the phone belonged to the student’s family.

The student had the phone with him when contacted by Chief Weeks. He first denied making the calls, the chief said, but was arrested and lodged at the juvenile campus.