Chelan County Emergency Management reported a bomb threat around 9 p.m. According to Undersheriff Jason Matthews, RiverCom dispatchers received an anonymous tip from a man claiming that an explosive device was inside a garbage can in downtown Leavenworth, WA at the 800 block of Front Street.
Local authorities called in Washington State Patrol bomb technicians, ordered an evacuation of the area and a lockdown at Cascade Medical Center, and closed U.S. 2.
Severe winter weather in the mountains delayed the arrival of the bomb techs by more than two hours.
Chelan County Emergency Management posted on Facebook about the incident, writing: “** BOMB THREAT ** in downtown Leavenworth. Evacuations taking place. Hospital is on lockdown. Follow all instructions immediately if you are in the area. Avoid the area. Post will be updated as more information is made available.”
They later added an update, which read: “ALL CLEAR: As of 2:00am, the area was determined to be clear. Evacuations and lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders have been removed.”
The Washington state bomb team and the FBI’s K-9 team determined the area to be clear as of December 30 at 2:25 a.m.
All orders to evacuate and shelter-in-place, along with the highway closure, have since been lifted.
The bomb threat caused major disruptions, but ultimately turned out to be a false alarm. Police are still investigating.
