BANGOR, Maine — A 6½-inch camouflage tube with a wick sticking out looked like a large explosive, so employees at Best Buy called police Tuesday afternoon to report a bomb.

“The bomb team did go out there but it ended up being one of those geocaching containers,” Bangor police Sgt. Paul Edwards said just after the department’s bomb squad returned to the police station.

Geocaching is modern-day treasure hide-and-seek game that is played using a handheld GPS device, with treasure locations posted online using latitude and longitude.

According to geocaching.com there are seven caches hidden near the Bangor Mall and others located across the street in the Bangor Parkade and on the Sylvan Road.

The initial call came into the police station just minutes after 1 p.m. and the bomb squad immediately was dispatched to 45 Bangor Mall Blvd. to investigate the suspicious package, the sergeant said.

The report was “there was an object wrapped in camouflage duct tape and it had what looked like a fuse,” Edwards said.

The container was located outside the big box electronics store, he said.

Edwards did not know if the store was evacuated and the store manager said she could not say if employees and staff were asked to leave. She referred all questions to the company’s public relations department, which did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Reprinted with permission from the Bangor Daily News.

Copy the Story Link