Valley ‘device’ turns out to be a handbag

Spokane Valley police responded to a possible suspicious device left at Sprague Avenue and Thierman Road tonight and instead found a large handbag. A man spotted the bag underneath a bus stop bench shortly before 8 tonight, said Lt. Earl Howerton. The man reportedly looked inside, saw what he thought could be wires and notified the bus driver, Howerton added. The Spokane Transit Authority driver called police. The bag contained women’s clothing, some hair extensions and papers, Howerton said. Asked if police are getting more reports of suspicious packages in the wake of the attempted bombing at the Martin Luther King Jr. march on Jan. 17, he replied, “I think there is a heightened awareness, but we respond to these all the time.”