SEBASTIAN — Sebastian authorities say a suspicious device that prompted a response from a county bomb squad turned out to be a harmless container used in a popular outdoor game.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office bomb squad was called in Tuesday evening after Sebastian police spotted what appeared to be a possible pipe bomb near a conservation area trailhead. The item, described as a plastic PVC pipe wrapped in tape, was found out in the open by a sign at the North Sebastian Conservation Area, near Main Street and Powerline Road.
No injuries were reported, and the area was cleared without incident shortly before 7 p.m., officials said. Roads in the vicinity were briefly closed as a precaution but have since reopened.
Tod Goodyear, a spokesperson for the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, told Sebastian Daily that the device was harmless.
Sebastian police responded to reports of the suspicious package around 4:12 p.m. After assessing the device and determining it could potentially be explosive, officers summoned the bomb squad technicians for assistance.
Upon examination, the bomb squad confirmed the item was not an incendiary or explosive device but rather a geocaching container. Geocaching is a recreational activity where participants use GPS to hide and seek containers at specific locations marked by coordinates.
The location is west of U.S. 1 and close to a U.S. Postal Service office.
