WARREN, Maine — State and local police responded to a call Wednesday at a popular park along a busy highway when a device that looked like an explosive was found taped to the side of a footbridge.
In the end, no explosive material was found and the device was determined to be safe.
The incident began shortly after 2:30 p.m. Wednesday when a person called to say they found a suspicious item on the side of the footbridge which leads to a playground at Merrill Payson Park. Deputy Nathaniel Jack responded and the item appeared to be an Arizona ice tea can that was tied to a paint stir stick. There appeared to be a string or fuse coming from the base of the item.
The item had black tape around its base.
The deputy contacted the town of Warren and its public works department to inquire if they had noticed or placed the item on the bridge. They said they had no knowledge of the device.
Knox County Sgt. Patrick Polky arrived and called the Maine State Police bomb squad, which responded at about 4 p.m.
A canine trained to detect explosives did not pick up any indication and the bomb squad determined the device to be safe.
The Maine fire marshal’s office took over the investigation into the case. A telephone message left for the investigator was not returned Thursday morning.