Ticking Package Removed from Pinnacle Foods in St. Elmo; Found Not to be Explosive Threat

(THE SCENE THIS MORNING AT PINNACLE FOODS IN ST. ELMO)

A ticking package found on a desk in the Pinnacle Foods plant in St. Elmo Wednesday morning was found "not to be an explosive threat."

A secretary found a soft 3-by-8-inch envelope on her desk in the plant at 9:16am today and the package was ticking. A fellow employee took the package outside the building and then police were summoned.

St. Elmo police notified the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, which then contacted Illinois Secretary of State Police, the agency that oversees the bomb squad. A unit was dispatched and reached St. Elmo about 11:30am. Work then began to utilize a robot that is designed to examine the package without any danger to personnel. Authorities say the package was "rendered safe using a disruption tool."

The plant was evacuated, and no employees were injured. 

St. Elmo Police Chief Brock Rich said, "I would like to thank all of the agencies that came together today to ensure the incident was handled in the safest way possible. We will always take the full necessary steps to ensure public safety. We are fortunate to have units such as the bomb squad to provide expertise and guidance in specialized situations such as this."

Other agencies assisting were the Brownstown Police Department, Rural Med Ambulance and St. Elmo Fire Department.