David Rabitor, a police dispatcher, said early Friday that the bus had been taken from the scene, and that all nearby roads and buildings were reopened. The bus wasn't impounded.

The odyssey involving the Maine-to-New York bus began Thursday around 11:15 a.m. with a emergency call about a man on a bus with a bomb, police said. Authorities evacuated buildings and streets and called the bus passengers out, but one man refused to leave.

The man, wearing camouflage pants without a shirt, stepped off the bus with his hands high over his head at 8:45 p.m., after hours of negotiations. He then went to his knees before soon getting up and appearing to follow orders from police to walk away from the bus.

He was taken into custody and was being questioned, but the case is not terrorism-related, Portsmouth Police Chief David Ferland said at a late-night news conference during which he refused to answer questions.

No details about the passenger were immediately released.

More information was expected to be released later Friday.