SALT LAKE CITY — Part of downtown Salt Lake City was shut down for several hours Monday due to a suspicious item that was found in the area.
In the latest update Monday afternoon, the Salt Lake City Police Department announced that the item turned out to be an "organic agricultural product." No description beyond that was provided.
SLCPD said the investigation started around 8 a.m. when they were tipped off by a community member who saw something out of the ordinary in an alleyway near 20 W. 200 South.
Police then obtained security camera footage that showed an individual placing the item in a suspicious manner, Sgt. Mark Wian explained.
Hours after the investigation began, officials began to evacuate the US Bank Tower, located at 170 S. Main Street. Wian said the evacuation was done out of an "abundance of caution."
"There's something here that just doesn't seem right," Wian explained at the time. "It's out of the ordinary."
Then shortly after 2:30 p.m., SLCPD announced that they had "determined the suspicious item does not pose any threat."
In a later update, Wian said things were back to normal in the area.
Wian said they have not yet identified the person who placed the agricultural product in the area. He urged that person to contact the department at 801-799-3000 to explain themselves, as well as for anyone who saw anything odd Monday morning in the area to call in a tip.
Police said that while the investigation may have seemed like a drawn-out process, there was nothing unusual about it.
"These types of investigations can take several hours as we prioritize the safety of everyone on scene," SLCPD wrote in a social media post.
The Hazardous Devices Unit and the Bomb Squad responded to the scene to assist in the investigation. Partners including the FBI, Air National Guard, the fire department and the Salt Lake County Health Department assisted in the process. SLCPD said the many resources that were brought in will be leaving over the next hour or so.
"We feel we need to make sure we are covering all of our bases, taking that time, utilizing the resources and partners that we have throughout the valley, to make sure that we're taking this step by step, piece by piece," Wian said.
Roads were closed to cars, bikes and pedestrians for some time, while Utah Transit Authority TRAX lines in the area experienced delays and closures.
This occurred just one day after a Salt Lake City bookstore was closed and evacuated due to a bomb threat made shortly before a drag queen book reading event.
