Bomb scare at Macon medical office likely prison contraband

Employees evacuated a Macon medical office Monday morning after a suspicious device was found in a trash can inside the building.

About 7 a.m. Monday, the Bibb County Sheriff’s Office and Macon-Bibb firefighters were called to Heart of Georgia Rheumatology at 1508 Hardeman Ave.

Georgia Department of Corrections inmates were waiting on vans for medical appointments and were kept a safe distance away from the building.

An officer from the Bibb sheriff’s Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit donned a protective vest and helmet and went into the office to investigate the item found in a restroom trash can.

He determined it was a cellphone, likely left for one of the inmates scheduled for an appointment that morning.

He cleared the building by 8 a.m. and turned over the device to a Bibb deputy and corrections officers.

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 9:42 AM with the headline "Bomb scare at Macon medical office likely prison contraband."