NATCHEZ — The all-clear has been given on a suspicious package found on a barge traveling the Mississippi River near Natchez on Sunday.
The barge was stopped about a mile south of the Adams County port when a Jackson bomb squad and Office of Homeland Security officers determined that a suspicious bag found on board was not a threat, officials said.
A suspicious package was found to be an empty bag. (Ben Hillyer / The Natchez Democrat)
Adams County Sheriff Travis Patten said he’d received a call from 911 at approximately 1:30 p.m. Sunday about a suspicious package found on a barge. Adams County Emergency Management, FBI, Adams County Search and Rescue, Wildlife and Fisheries and Mississippi Emergency Management Agency were also contacted in addition to Adams County and Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Offices, the Jackson Police Department bomb squad, and Homeland Security, he said.
According to Patten, a suspicious black bag was found by crew members deep in a poorly lit bin where typically only transported materials would be.