Suspicious package leads to Grant County courthouse evacuation

EPHRATA – A suspicious package that was determined to be a gift for someone forced the evacuation of the Grant County Courthouse Friday morning.

Kyle Foreman, public information officer for the Grant County Sheriff’s Office, wrote in a release that the package was considered to be suspicious when it was found.

No one was injured in the incident.

The package was discovered inside a building at the courthouse campus, but was not in the Law and Justice Center, which houses the Grant County Jail, Foreman wrote. The courthouse was evacuated before noon, and the streets around the courthouse were blocked off while the package was evaluated.

County officials contacted the Washington State Patrol bomb squad, who examined the package and found it to be harmless.

Courthouse staff were allowed to re-enter the building about 2:15 p.m., but the courthouse complex remained closed to the public for the rest of the day.