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@VancouverPDUSA
A portion Esther Short Park in downtown Vancouver was closed temporarily today while Police investigated a suspicious package.
On Friday, September 21, 2018 at about 1 pm, Vancouver Police responded to Esther Short Park, 605 Esther St, Vancouver, WA, to investigate the report of a suspicious person placing a handbag next to a tree and walking away. Officers located the bag next to a large tree on the east side of the park but could not locate the person who left it there. Several witnesses reported the man was wearing a mask and behaving strangely.
Due to the suspicious circumstances, and the fact that the bag was closed and could not be visually inspected by Officers, the Portland Metro Explosive Disposal Unit (MEDU) was requested for assistance. MEDU used a robot and x-rays to inspect the item and did not detect any explosives. As a final precaution MEDU fired a projectile into the bag to ensure it was safe to handle.
The bag was found to contain common personal items and nothing dangerous.
Esther Short Park was reopened and Police are no longer on scene.
There is no additional information available at this time.