Modesto Wal-Mart empties after scare

MODESTO -- The McHenry Avenue Wal-Mart in north Modesto was evacuated Sunday night after an employee found what appeared to be a suspicious package addressed to the police.

The Stanislaus County Sheriff's Department bomb squad robot opened the package and found two pieces of jewelry, Modesto police Lt. Craig Gundlach said. Firefighters checked the jewelry for contaminants, and the jewelry cwas found to be clean.

The employee found the 5-inch-by-7-inch sealed cardboard box addressed to the Modesto Police Department in a shopping cart in the southwest corner of the shopping center in the 3800 block of McHenry.

Police advised Wal-Mart officials to evacuate about a quarter of the store, but Wal-Mart closed the entire store, where about 100 customers and an unknown number of employees were inside.

Two nearby businesses, the White Hawk Lounge and Valley Tobacco, also closed. Wal-Mart was closed for about two hours and reopened about 8:40 p.m.

Gundlach said it appears someone found the jewelry and wanted police to find its owner. He said there was no return address on the box.

He said it's possible the person left the cardboard box by mistake after finishing his or her shopping.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call Modesto police at (209) 572-9500.