The Lions Great Bridge and Pearson Bridge in Nanaimo were closed briefly Wednesday while police responded to a call about a suspicious package.
The item was found by passersby shortly before 10 a.m. on the Lions Great Bridge, a foot bridge that crosses the Millstone River at Maffeo Sutton Park in downtown Nanaimo.
“It was left unattended an it had some writing on it that caused some bystanders some concern,” said Const. Gary O’Brien. “We looked at it. We weren’t quite sure what the nature of it was. The fact that it was unattended and there was nobody around ... out of precaution and considering the safety of the public we closed the Lions Great Bridge.”
Pearson Bridge, located alongside Lions Great Bridge, was also closed as a precaution.
O’Brien said Nanaimo RCMP was about to call in the RCMP’s Explosives Disposal Unit when the package’s owner returned for it.
“The owner of the package came by, he apologized profusely. He got busy for a second and forgot about his package,” O’Brien said. “There was nothing disconcerting about it and we decided at that point there was no risk at all to the public."
O'Brien said both bridges were only closed for a few minutes and traffic on Terminal Avenue, which crosses Pearson Bridge, was light at the time of the investigation.