WATERVILLE — Police redirected traffic on Mayflower Drive for about two hours Sunday morning as explosives experts from the Maine State Police investigated a suspicious container discovered on the Colby College campus.

Waterville Deputy Police Chief Charles Rumsey said Monday that college security found a fireproof document box near the Davis Science Center on the southeast side of the campus at around 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

A security employee put the box in a Colby vehicle and called Waterville Police to report the discovery, believing it could have been stolen and then dumped near the building.

But since the box was found out in the open near a corner of the building, responding officers decided to use more caution. They placed the box in a Waterville Police Department vehicle and called Maine State Police for guidance, Rumsey said.

“Because of the place it had been left, we became a little concerned that it was suspicious,” he said.

Four officers from the Maine State Police Bomb/Explosive unit arrived on the scene by 10:30 a.m. Waterville police helped direct traffic on Mayflower Drive away from the area of the science center, considered a potential blast zone.

The state police took the strongbox and placed it in a specialized container, then used a hydraulic technique to open it. The box was empty inside and no explosives were found, Rumsey said. Police cleared the scene a little before 12:30 p.m.

Police are interested in finding out more about the origin of the box, but without more information it is unlikely that further action will be taken in the case, Rumsey said.

Peter McGuire — 861-9239

pmcguire@centralmaine.com

Twitter: PeteL_McGuire

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