The barge which drifted under the U.S. Highway 64 bridge at Webber Falls and came within a mile of the Interstate 40 bridge over the Arkansas River July 13 was cut loose from the shore by vandals, authorities said Tuesday.

A U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said his agency and the FBI visited the mooring site and determined that the ties had been cut. The FBI ruled out any terrorist activity, he said.

Both agencies have turned over the investigation to the Webbers Falls Police Department. "It's become a local law enforcement issue. It's actually a case of vandalism," the spokesman said.

Webbers Falls Police Officer Joseph Garrett said that may be so, but doesn't mean his small department should be taking charge. The McClellan-Kerr Navigational Channel, which allows barge traffic from Catoosa to the Mississippi River, is managed by the federal government, he said.

"Really and truthfully, we feel like it's the FBI's or the Coast Guard or someone beside us," Webbers Falls Mayor Jewell Horne said.

Garrett said it would be tough finding the vandals.

"I got so many suspects I could run through, it wouldn't even be funny," Garrett said. "That doesn't mean they did it."