Box with wires causes bomb scare in Naylor, Mo.

NAYLOR, Mo. -- A box with visible wires in the Naylor post office led to a bomb scare Tuesday.

Postmaster Jamie Johnson evacuated the post office and notified authorities around 10:30 a.m. after seeing the box and not knowing who brought it in or how long it had been there.

Naylor Police Chief Grady Coble sealed off the post office and evacuated nearby businesses and residences with the help of the Ripley County Sheriff's Department and the Missouri State Highway Patrol. Streets were blocked to keep onlookers at a safe distance.

The Southeast Missouri Regional Bomb Squad arrived from Sikeston and used a robot to enter the post office, remove the box and place it in a containment vehicle around 1:25 p.m.

At that moment, Joel Lunsford drove up in his pickup.

Lunsford, who lives near Naylor, said he accidentally left the box in the post office while mailing other boxes containing tracking collars for dogs. There was a charger for the tracking collars in the box.

Highway patrol Trooper Brian Arnold said Lunsford "mailed a bunch of packages. He forgot one and left it laying there."

Bomb squad members responding were Darron Moore of the Poplar Bluff Police Department, Capt. Mike Williams, Tommy Conn and John Nelson, all of Sikeston.

"You could see the wires sticking out of the cardboard box, which measured 2 inches by 6 inches," bomb squad member Darron Moore said.

Pertinent address:

Naylor, MO