Part of South Hunts Meadow Road in Whitefield was closed Thursday morning, Dec. 1, after a report of a suspicious object left in a mailbox. At 7:42 a.m., the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office received a call from a citizen on the road. The object was described as a bottle containing some sort of clear liquid with a watch attached. 

After deputies arrived, the scene was secured and the Maine State Police Bomb Squad was contacted for assistance. MSP Bomb Squad techs and an investigator from the Fire Marshal’s Office arrived to assist with the investigation. A section of the road was closed for about an hour and a half while the object was investigated and removed.

The object was found to be a fake device; it was being sent to the Maine State Police Crime Lab in Augusta for further analysis. The investigation by the Sheriff’s Office and the Fire Marshal’s Office was continuing.

The public is reminded to call 911 immediately whenever a suspicious package or device is found. Always move to a safe distance and never touch, examine or otherwise move any such item. A safe distance can be summed up by a quote from a Fire Marshal’s investigator; “If you can see the device, the device can see you.”