Several buildings downtown were evacuated and local, state and federal authorities, including the Allen County Bomb Squad, were called to investigate a suspicious package Thursday afternoon located in a vehicle parked at the Logan County Juvenile Detention Center, 104 S. Madriver St.
Bellefontaine Police Department Chief Brandon Standley said his agency was notified Thursday by a Bellefontaine woman, who said she had received the out-of-state package in the mail the previous day.
She reportedly had placed the package in her vehicle and had started to open it Thursday while parked by the JDC. The woman told officers she became suspicious of items she found in the package and notified the police department.
Officers responded to the scene around 1:30 p.m. and officers said they also found the package to be suspicious, so an evacuation of several area downtown buildings in the area of Madriver Street and east Columbus Avenue began.
Police worked with deputies of the Logan County Sheriff’s Office to evacuate the Logan County JDC, Memorial Hall, the Logan County Courthouse Annex Building, Logan County Adult Parole Authority, Lighthouse Shelter and the former church at the southeast corner of Madriver Street and Columbus Avenue.
Authorities also closed Madriver Street between Chillicothe and Columbus avenues, and also a portion of Court Avenue, to all traffic for the afternoon.
“It’s not every day that we have a situation like this and we are going to take every precaution possible to keep everyone safe. It’s a slow and methodical process,” he said as the Allen County Bomb Squad first deployed a robot on the vehicle.
Then a bomb squad member wearing an Explosive Ordnance Advanced Disposal Bomb Suit approached the vehicle as well to conduct the process of dealing with a potentially dangerous materials.
An inactive hand grenade was found inside the package authorities report.
Before the Allen County Bomb Squad arrived, officers flew a drone in the area as well.
Just as the work at the scene Thursday stretched for hours, Chief Standley said the investigation into this matter will be thorough and take time to complete.
“The city resident who found the package did the right thing by contacting us with her concerns. It’s too early to tell at this time whether we are dealing with anything criminal with the contents of this package, but we will be taking a careful look at what we find here today.”