Monday, December 08, 2008

AP: Missouri Governor's Office Received Suspicious Letter

***UPDATED: HIGHWAY PATROL SAYS PACKAGE NEVER MADE IT TO GOVERNOR'S OFFICE
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP & KY3 NEWS) - Authorities say governors' offices in at least six states, including Missouri, received suspicious letters containing powdery substances.

No injuries have been reported.

A spokesperson for the Missouri Highway Patrol tells KY3 News that authorities identified a suspicious package containing a white powdery substance at an off-site mail facility in Jefferson City around 3 p.m. Monday afternoon.
"The package was never in the Capitol or near the Governor's office," said Lt. John Hotz of the Highway Patrol. "Procedures are put in place so workers can identify these things to make sure they never reach the offices," Hotz explained. Hotz said once workers scanned the package and saw the substance, officials from Missouri's Department of Health and Senior Services and Cole County's HAZMAT team responded to the scene.
Hotz said authorities have not been able to yet identify the substance and that Kansas City's F.B.I. office is handling the investigation.
Alabama public safety director Christopher Murphy said letters arrived in Alabama, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri and Rhode Island. Another letter was reported in Montana.

In Alabama, mailroom workers at the Capitol noticed the suspicious letter Monday and notified police. Authorities closed off the street behind the building and set up a decontamination tent.

Tests found the powder in the Alabama and Mississippi letters was harmless. In Providence, R.I., state police blocked access to the Statehouse after a suspicious white powder was found in an envelope addressed to the governor.

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