Morning traffic in Seaside was disrupted as the bomb squad investigated a suspicious box, which turned out to hold a half-full soda bottle with a cap on, dry ice packages, a half-eaten sandwich and party streamers.
The white styrofoam cooler was found on David Avenue, a street sandwiched between Walgreens and Canyon del Rey Boulevard, around 8am.
As a precaution Canyon Del Rey was closed from Fremont Street to Francis Avenue, and Charles Avenue was closed off completely.
Seaside police Sgt. John Law said it appeared the box had been placed carefully next to the front tire of a red vehicle, believed to be owned by a Department of Defense employee.
The owner of the vehicle was the first to notice the box. He then asked neighbors if it was theirs, and after learning it wasn’t he tried to lift it, but immediately noticed it was heavy. That’s when he called police.
Seaside police responded and closed down surrounding streets, but did not try to open the box. Instead, the bomb squad was called to help decipher what its contents were.
The people who first reported the box speculated on what the contents could be. “I think there’s a severed head inside,” one says. “I think it’s organs,” says another.
But as we know now, the goodies inside turned out to be items for an unusual lunch party.
Nic Coury contributed to this report.