Possible pipe bombs found at post offices
ATHENS, Ohio (AP) - July 29, 2008 Columbus police bomb squads, the FBI, a Postal Service inspector
and local authorities examined the objects found in the small towns
of Guysville and Stewart.
It was not immediately clear whether the objects actually were
bombs, said Lisa Fitzpatrick, a Cincinnati-based U.S. Postal
Service inspector. Authorities in Guysville said the object there
was considered safe, Fitzpatrick said, but she didn't have details.
A contractor who delivers mail to the post offices discovered
the objects and alerted the main office in Athens, The Athens
Messenger reported.
The contractor found the first object at the back door of the
Guysville office and moved it slightly to make his delivery. It was
about a foot long and appeared to have a transmitter, the newspaper
said. The second was hanging on a side door of the Stewart office,
the newspaper reported.
Postal Service spokesman Ray Jacobs said he would not speculate
on why the devices were at the post offices.
"I'm sure it will be a while before the investigation uncovers
why and who did it," he said.
Both towns have fewer than 100 residents each, said Athens
County Planning Director Bob Eichenberg.
Authorities did not comment on whether there might be any link
to explosives found Thursday at three sites in nearby Nelsonville,
including one device that blew a window out of a camera shop. Three
young men were charged in those incidents.