MISSOULA, Mont. — Missoula County Undersheriff Rich Maricelli said Highway 93 is reopened in Lolo after the bomb squad was called in to investigate a suspicious package Monday afternoon.
Maricelli said the source of concern may have been a smoke detector or similar item with a beeping battery.
The initial report came in around 4 p.m. after an employee heard a beeping noise in a garbage can outside the Town Pump on the south side of town near Highway 12. They reached in and found a microwave popcorn bag with the device inside it.
Because the parcel was suspicious officials decided to err on the side of caution and call in their explosives team to check it out.
The Town Pump and other nearby businesses were cordoned off while officials used a robot to open the package.
Tianna Burns was evacuated from Florence Coffee where she works near Town Pump to the nearby post office.
She said law enforcement wanted them to be a “football field away.”
“I thought it was a gas leak at first,” she said. “Anything but a bomb threat. To happen in a small town like this, it’s crazy to think about.”
But she said she wasn’t scared and after law enforcement finished its investigation she went back to work at the coffee kiosk.
Maricelli said no homes were evacuated, and nearby road closures have been reopened.
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