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SALT LAKE CITY — After police investigated a suspicious package at the Matheson Courthouse, they determined neither was explosive and employees were allowed back inside.
Earlier, a bomb squad detonated two suspicious bags left on the sidewalk in front of the courthouse, prompting an evacuation.
Dozens of employees and patrons were stranded because their cars were parked in the garage below the building, while several hundred were believed to have been ushered out of the building just after 4 p.m.
A woman told police that shortly after 3 p.m., she saw a white van pull up and leave two bags on the front steps of the courthouse, said Salt Lake City police Det. Cary Wichmann. The van left and police could not locate the woman for further comment on the issue.
Court officials reported that the courthouse, 450 S. State, had been evacuated as of 4:15 p.m. due to the discovery of the abandoned bags, one of which is a backpack and the other a duffel bag, Wichmann said.
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