CASPER — Mehdia Wurtz has no regrets about calling in the mysteriousobject her dog sniffed around while they went for a walk Monday morning.
The pressure cooker that sat on the corner of Indian Paintbrush and Aster streets in Casper triggered an hourslong evacuation and a continuing investigation by the Casper Police Department.
The CPD reported Tuesday that the device did not have explosivesinside, but appeared to be associated with illegal drug activity.
On Monday morning, Wurtz said she was headed out on an errand when her dog noticed the suspicious pressure cooker.
“About 9 o’clock my dog … she was over there sniffing something,” Wurtz said Tuesday, as she stood outside her home at the intersection where the pressure cooker was placed. “It was right over there by that fire hydrant.”
Wurtz walked over and found the pressure cooker sitting on the sidewalk, took a photo of it and sent it to her husband, asking if they should be concerned.
He advised her to call the police.
She waited an hour, did her errand and returned. It was still sitting there.
Wurtz said she called the Casper Police Department’s non-emergency number about 10:15 a.m. and was told that they were glad she called.
That’s because pressure cookers were used in the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing that claimed three lives and maimed hundreds of racers and spectators.
Police were on the scene by 10:30 a.m., Wurtz said.
“At first they were not really concerned, and I got to stay in the house, and they got to do an X-ray,” she said. “Then they gradually kept expanding the perimeter and evacuated us all from our houses.”
The Casper Police Department stated in a news release Tuesday that a witness reported seeing a man leave the pressure cooker on the sidewalk several hours earlier.
When explosive ordnance disposal technicians were called to the scene and did a preliminary X-ray of the device, the imaging revealed “internal components that were consistent with materials used in improvised explosive devices,” CPD reported.
Casper Police Department’s photos of X-ray images of the container. (Courtesy Casper Police Department) 
The intersection of Indian Paintbrush and Aster streets where someone left a pressure cooker on Monday. (Dale Killingbeck, Cowboy State Daily) 
The photo of the pressure cooker that Paradise Valley resident Mehdia Wurtz sent to her husband on Monday to see if they should report the container. (Courtesy Mehdia Wurtz)
‘Acted With Caution’
Wurtz said she understood initially that it contained a flashlight, a scale, and a possible detonation device.
“I don’t know what actually made me not even move it yesterday,” she said. “I acted with caution.”
Casper police and fire departments deployed to block streets leading to the intersection in the Paradise Valley subdivision for more than four hours on Monday.
CPD reported that although initial imaging suggested the presence of components potentially related to explosive devices, further investigation showed it did not.
“Investigators did, however, discover materials associated with illegal drug use inside the device,” CPD reported.
Detective Megan Dovala said pressure cookers are a recognized potential threat involving homemade explosive devices.
“Any indication of that threat is treated with the utmost seriousness. Our priority is public safety, and we are committed to holding accountable anyone who may seek to endanger our community,” she said. “We are grateful to the vigilant citizens who reported this suspicious item.”
Neighbor Evacuates
Neighbor Megan Dayley, who lives diagonally across from the intersection where the pressure cooker sat said she was gone for part of the morning, and her children were at the house.
When she returned her street was blocked off. She had to go around to get into her house.
She said her husband works for the Natrona County Sheriff’s Office and he arrived to check their security cameras to see if there was any information that could help the investigation - there was not.
They could just see the pressure cooker on the corner and “it looked odd.”
“We just sat here,” she said. “Then they asked us to evacuate. It was around 1:30 or 2 p.m.”
Dayley said she went to a relative’s house and then her girls enjoyed time playing at the mall.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” she said. “I am really glad that somebody reported it.”
The incident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact CPD at 307-235-8278 or submit an anonymous tip through Crime Stoppers of Central Wyoming at 307-577-8477 or crime-stoppers.com.
Contact Dale Killingbeck at dale@cowboystatedaily.com
Dale Killingbeck can be reached at dale@cowboystatedaily.com.
