OWENTOWN- Federal officials were called in to what was first though to be a bomb at an East Texas postal processing plant. The item was eventually cleared, but investigators are staying tight-lipped about the situation.
Post officials say Tuesday night employees came across a suspicious item while sorting through the mail at the East Texas postal processing and distribution plant in Owentown.
Officials say it wasn't sealed in a package or envelope, it was loose with no clues on where it came from or how it got there.
Authorities tell us the item, a beer bottle filled with gasoline. The Smith County Sheriff's Department says the bottle also had a wick sticking out of it. One sheriff's report stated that someone most likely put the item in a collection box where it went unnoticed until it was found at the plant.
One postal inspector told us finding suspicious and potentially dangerous items in the mail happens pretty often.
"We've found firearms, we've found narcotics, we've found rolled money, we've found all kinds of stuff in the mailbox," postal inspector, Amanda McMurrey, told us. "We've even found cats and other animals stuffed into mailboxes, so its not that unusual."
But even for Merv Wise, 86, who spent a good portion of his career working for the postal service, finding anything that was suspicious or potentially dangerous was unheard of in his day.
"Nobody ever thought about having any outside trouble like that," Mr. Wise said.
The investigation is now in the hands of postal officials, who said they could not comment on an ongoing investigation, leaving many to speculate about it's purpose.
"People weren't against the government back then, they were with everything," he said.
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