Suspicious package that evacuated Missouri Walmart was part of geocaching game

MARSHALL, Mo. - A suspicious package reported at a Marshall, Mo., Walmart caused authorities to close the store and an area strip mall for nearly four hours - and call the bomb squad from Whitman Air Force base.

It turned out to a harmless part of an online game.

Officials were called to the Walmart  at 855 S. Cherokee Drive shortly after 6 p.m. on Wednesday.

Sgt. Roger Gibson of the Marshall Police Department said Walmart security noticed two suspicious men in the garden area of the store.

After the men left, security checked outside a guardrail area and noticed a cylindrical object wrapped in tape.

They called police, who then evacuated the store and a few nearby businesses, and called the Whitman unit.

The Ordnance Disposal Unit arrived on scene about 8:30 p.m. and checked the item with a robot.

The item turned out to be a harmless item that was part of a geocaching game, which is a treasure hunting game where you use a GPS to hide and seek containers with other players.

A K-9 unit was also called in to search the store and outlying area.

The store was re-opened just before 10:00 p.m.

No injuries were reported.

Officials are working to look at surveillance video and contact those involved.