Suspicious envelope reported at post office

A suspicious man sending an envelope at the Green River Post Office resulted in a response from the county’s bomb squad Monday night.

According to a release from the Green River Police Department, officers met with a person at 7:47 p.m. who said they were on Interstate 80 between Rock Springs and Green River and were passed by a maroon-colored Toyota Camry with Oregon license plates, driven by a man wearing a gas mask. The person claimed they followed the vehicle to the Green River Post Office, where the man, no longer wearing the gas mask when he exited the vehicle, was described as an older, white man with light, balding hair and wearing long rubber dish gloves pulled over a long-sleeved shirt. He was described as carefully carrying a white envelope into the post office.

The person reported the man left the post office empty handed. The man then returned to his vehicle and drove south on Uinta Drive.

The Sweetwater County bomb squad, along with the Green River Fire Department and area post master, were contacted and responded to the post office. The bomb squad analyzed mail with an X-ray and used air monitors inside the post office. No unusual odors or packages were found. One package was inspected beyond the X-ray, but was found to be standard mail.

The GRPD has not located the person or vehicle described in the report.

According to Eric Manuel, a postal inspector for the United States Postal Inspection Service, the mail system handles 155 billion pieces of mail each year and situations regarding suspicious parcels are very low. He said the Cheyenne-based agent responsible for mail in southwestern Wyoming was unable to arrive in time to inspect mail, but worked closely with the police and fire departments as they inspected the mail.

When situations like this arise, Manuel said suspicious parcels are removed from the mail stream and isolated. Depending on the situation, either individual departments are evacuated or the entire postal facility is vacated. At the Green River Post Office, Manuel said the situation occurred after business hours and didn’t greatly impact the facility.

Manuel also said training provided to postal workers since the 2001 anthrax attacks have increased recognition of suspicious letters and packages.