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Transbay Tube Trespasser ID'd, Undergoing Mental Health Evaluation

SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) -- A man BART officials say was apprehended roughly two hours after walking into the Transbay Tube Thursday evening has been identified as 26-year-old Benjamin Jones.

At about 6:30 p.m., a BART police officer at the Embarcadero station spotted Jones allegedly walking into the tunnel, heading towards Oakland.

Officers walking through the tunnel and riding very slowly moving trains searched for Jones throughout the tube.

He was found and arrested on suspicion of interfering with a railroad at 8:11 p.m., BART spokeswoman Alicia Trost said.

Jones, who caused major systemwide delays while police searched for him, was also undergoing a mental health evaluation, Trost said.

The two-bore underwater tunnel spans the roughly 3.5 miles between San Francisco and Oakland but Trost said she wasn't sure how far down the tube Jones was found.

During the search, trains continued to run through the tunnel but at very slow speeds and on manual control.

After officers apprehended Jones, he was placed onto a train and removed from the tube.

TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.

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