Police contact FBI, post office to find source of letter threatening Collinsville dance

Metro-east police contacted the FBI and the U.S. Postal Service this week as they looked for the author of a letter threatening a community dance scheduled at a Collinsville school, according to a local superintendent.

The anonymous, handwritten letter was addressed to Collinsville Unit 10 Superintendent Robert Green, who said in a statement that it “conveyed a threat to the safety of persons attending the annual May Dance.”

The dance is a community event planned each year at Collinsville High School. This year, it is scheduled for May 5.

Green said the school district received the letter Monday. As of Wednesday, police were still trying to find the source of the threat, according to a news release from the Collinsville Police Department.

Police said investigators and school resource officers were involved in the investigation.

“As always, the safety of our residents, and in this particular instance, our children, is a top priority,” the release stated.

The letter was sent to the school district’s administrative building on West Clay Street, according to Green.

The superintendent said in his statement that the school district officials, police and community leaders who are sponsoring the dance would be in contact over the next two weeks to “strategize the best course of action to take.”

“We feel confident the source of this threat will be identified,” Green stated.

Green said the community group responsible for the dance is Collinsville Tepee.

Anyone with information about the threat can contact the Collinsville Police Department at 618-344-2131.

This story was originally published April 25, 2018 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Police contact FBI, post office to find source of letter threatening Collinsville dance."