An envelope of onion salt lures investigators, media to St. Clair County Building
An envelope containing what was described as a suspicious white powder attracted sheriff’s department investigators and a Belleville Fire Department hazmat team to the St. Clair County Building on Tuesday morning.
The powder turned out to be onion salt, said Belleville Fire Chief Tom Pour, adding that there wasn’t very much of it inside.
“There wasn’t enough onion salt to put on your pasta,” Pour said.
Few other details were available, however, when Pour addressed the media that included St. Louis network television affiliates.
Pour said county and city investigators identified the powder as salt by using special equipment that can determine whether substances are hazardous and identify them.
St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department Capt. Bruce Fleshren said the envelope was discovered Tuesday about 8 a.m., but it was not immediately clear to which department it was mailed. It included a letter, the content of which was not released. It was determine quickly, however, that the powder was not hazardous, he said.
The courthouse was minimally staffed due the the holiday, Fleshren said, and no one was hurt. The building was not evacuated.
The St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department is continuing to investigate to determine if there was any threatening intent or if the inclusion of the onion salt with the envelop was accidental.
This story was originally published December 22, 2020 at 11:27 AM.
