UPDATED: Suspicious suitcase puts Corbin police on high alert

An abandoned suitcase at a local medical office put Corbin police on high alert Sunday evening over fears of what the strangely placed item may contain.

Cleaning staff at Corbin Medical Associates, on Cumberland Falls Hwy., notified police after they spotted a suitcase, with no apparent owner nearby, sitting in a row of bushes near the building. Corbin Police were first on the scene. Once there on the scene, authorities took extreme caution with the item, fearing the worst.

"It was all just a precautionary thing. You can’t take anything for granted in today’s world," said Corbin Police Assistant Chief Bruce Rains. "It ended up being no big deal."

Authorities, however, weren’t taking any chances. The area was sealed off to citizens. Rains said Corbin Police notified Kentucky State Police who sent a special bomb squad to examine the luggage. The squad used a remote control robot to x-ray the suitcase, and in the end blast it with a jet of water to detonate anything that could have been inside if it were to contain explosives. When the suitcase broke open, police discovered only clothing, some tape and other normal travel items.

"There was some papers in there. Everything was in Spanish. There was even a picture of some Mexican money in there," Rains said. "Someone from Mexico or somebody left it there. It could have been a transient. Nobody really knows why it was there."

As of Monday afternoon, the suitcase had still gone unclaimed. Police left it near where it was discovered in case the owner returned to take it back.

For a brief time, as a precaution, motorists were prevented from using a portion of Cumberland Falls Hwy. near the building until the contents of the suitcase were determined. Rains said traffic was diverted from the road for about 30 minutes.
Police initially got the call around 6:00 p.m. and left the scene around 10:00 p.m.