SALT LAKE CITY — Guests at a Salt Lake City hotel were evacuated after a suspicious package was discovered Thursday.
Police were called to the Hampton Inn and Suites at 1345 Foothill Drive around 8:30 p.m. when a backpack was found.
While viewing surveillance video, officers saw a man "quickly putting down a backpack, positioning it in a suspicious manner and then immediately leaving," according to a police report.
Guests were evacuated from parts of the hotel and Foothill Drive was shut down from 1300 South to 2300 East as the investigation continued.
The Hazardous Devices Unit used robots to determine the contents of the backpack and found only "personal items" inside, but police did not release details on the items due to the investigation.
The evacuation and street closures were lifted just after 1 a.m.
"We have to take these cases very seriously," said police spokesperson Brent Weisberg. "The last thing we want to do is endanger the public, endanger our officers or other first responders on scene."
Police are asking for help in identifying the man who left the backpack. Anyone with information is asked to call 801-799-3000.
