Suspicious Objects Turn Out to be Dead Animal Carcasses

It is not known who placed suspicious containers under a freeway bridge, or why.

Photo and video by Jerry Freeman Salem-News.com

(SALEM) - Oregon State Police (OSP) Hazardous Device Technicians removed and checked three suspicious containers from underneath the southbound Interstate 5 bridge over the Santiam River Saturday afternoon near milepost 240 and determined they contained small dead animals. The response to remove the unknown objects caused a temporary traffic delay as troopers slowed traffic to allow technicians time to remove the objects without having to completely stop traffic.

According to Sergeant Craig Ball, on April 20, 2013 at approximately 12:22 p.m., OSP troopers responded to a report that children playing near the overpass and river reported seeing suspicious objects under the freeway bridge. The children reported it to a rest area caretaker who called OSP. The three different sized containers were wrapped in duct tape so troopers requested OSP Hazardous Device Technicians to respond and evaluate before the the containers were removed.

After arrival and initial assessment, to facilitate the removal while trying to minimize traffic impact,OSP troopers did a slow roll of southbound traffic starting at milepost 253 about thirteen miles north of the scene. Troopers tried to keep traffic moving about 25 mph to allow time for other southbound traffic to clear allowing the objects to be safely removed to a separate location for further inspection. The slow roll of traffic lasted about 15 minutes.

After removing the three containers, Hazardous Device Technicians x-rayed them and found they each contained small dead animals and birds. It is not known who placed the containers there, or why.

News release from Oregon State Police

Jerry Freeman is part of a new generation of dedicated news photographers who entered the Internet news industry as a second career. He shares in common with many people who fulfilled their life dream of becoming a visual journalist. Joining the Navy at an early age, and the Oregon Army Guard a few years later, Jerry has a wide range of life experiences. He describes himself as “a truck driver with a new found passion to bear witness to the world’s events.”

Teaming up with Salem-News.com he embarked on a new career as a video news photographer and reporter. Jerry's quick exhibition of natural talent and ability to shoot breaking news led to his becoming a published member of the Salem-News.com team.