Haines police arrested a 34-year-old woman at the airport last week for the possession and intent to distribute methamphetamine, a felony charge.

An Alaska Seaplanes employee informed police that a man booked a ticket to fly from Juneau to Haines at 3:30 p.m. The man, who is awaiting sentencing for federal drug charges, later changed the reservation to the woman’s name.

An Alaska State Trooper in Juneau contacted the woman at the Juneau airport, who police say displayed signs of methamphetamine use. “She denied a request to search her purse because she didn’t want to miss her flight. (She) appeared to be disheveled and had a gaunt look about her with sunken eyes. Her skin was yellow and she had sores on her face.”

According to court records, Buss was allowed to board the flight for Haines where she was detained by Haines Police. The man was also at the airport. When interviewed by a police officer, the woman said she was asked via text messages earlier in the day to transport meth to Haines.

He “arranged for her to meet a man in Juneau at the Glory Hole, a Juneau homeless shelter, to pick up a baggie of an unknown substance for her to bring to Haines,” court documents state. “(The woman) further said the man arranged her travel on Alaska Seaplanes, told her to put the bag in her purse, and he would see her at 4 p.m. when her flight landed.”

Police secured a search warrant and found a sandwich bag in the woman’s purse containing 1.1 ounces of methamphetamine.