Multnomah County Courthouse Evacuated to Investigate Suspicious Package (UPDATED)

The Multnomah County courthouse downtown was cleared shortly after 2 pm this afternoon following a bomb threat.

Lt. Mary Lindstrand, a spokeswoman for the county sheriff’s office, says investigators have located a suspicious package on the third floor of the building.

Streets around the building at Southwest Fourth Avenue are closed to traffic as of 3 pm while investigators do their work.

UPDATE at 3:15 pm: Still waiting to hear what exactly authorities found, but they’ve given the “all-clear” for people to go back in the courthouse and are taking down the yellow tape that cordoned off the area.

UPDATE at 3:45 pm: Turns out the item in the third-floor courtroom was just an old green phone junction box with wires protruding out of it.