Who dropped the mystery box?

UPDATE — Reports suggest the suspicious package was, indeed, a box that fell off one of the entries in Saturday’s Santa Parade after the event was finished.

NEWS/ POLICE — Kamloops RCMP are continuing their investigation into a suspicious package found at the Tranquille Road off ramp from the Overlander Bridge on Saturday.

The incident was called into police by a motorist about 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. The caller indicated there was a red box near the side of the road with the letters “TNT” clearly marked on it. As a precaution, police closed down access to the roadway while they investigated.

“This type of incident often requires the attendance of the explosive disposal unit out of the Lower Mainland to deal with the item in question,” Cpl. Cheryl Bush said in a media release Tuesday.

“This specialty unit has the required equipment to detect and deal with explosive devices. Public and officer safety will always be the priority in these cases until an item is rendered safe.”

The incident was the second involving a suspicious item in the past week, both of which turned out to be non-explosive items, but caused disruption while the investigations were being carried out.

Bush said a question that has been raised in Saturday’s incident is whether this box may have come off a float from Santa Parade, which wrapped up shortly before the box was seen. Police are asking parade attendees to look at the photo of the item and if it is something that came from their parade display to contact Kamloops RCMP.

“It is important to determine if this was something accidental from the parade or if this was a deliberate hoax by an individual to cause a police response,” said Bush.

Until determined otherwise, police will continue to treat it as suspicious and try to identify a suspect, she said. Anyone found responsible for such an act could face charges under the criminal code for public mischief.