Movieclip name problem

This is my first time posting, so I hope I am doing this correctly. Here is the problem, I created a loop for “i”. I am trying to search thru all items called bumper# in my array (bumper1, bumper2, etc.) After a certain IF STATEMENT is met, I’d like to delete the bumper found with a removeMovieClip.

joe=[“bumper”+i]; (located on the root also)

trace(typeof(joe));
this is returning “object” instead of “movieclip”

After an IF STATEMENT =

joe.removeMovieClip();

Where is the problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated.