Suspicious Package Tests LE Response

According to Sheriff Vernon Buerkle, Valley County deputies and firefighters responded to a report of a suspicious device 20 miles north of Nashua. The suspicious package had been sent in the mail to a local resident on Nov. 5, at roughly 3:47 in the afternoon.

Buerkle stated that the report came in from a Valley County male who had received the package and noted its awkward shape and size. After opening the package, he found a clear plastic bottle containing a liquid. The bottle was wrapped with duct tape and inside the tape was an unidentifiable object.

The recipient of the package, unsure of what it was, reported the device via 911. After arriving on scene, Valley County deputies notified a myriad of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies and they initiated an investigation. At that time the device may have been harmless, explosive or may have even contained liquid forms of meth or LSD, according to Buerkle.

During the course of the investigation the package’s sender and intended recipient were found and the contents of the bottle were determined to be safe by law enforcement agencies. Buerkle described the call as a solid test of the offices’ response to such incidents and viewed the rapid determination of the suspicious package as being safe a success.

“Basically the investigation continued, it was determined safe and the system worked,” declared Buerkle.