SLC police investigating after suspicious package found; hotel evacuation, road closure lifted

SALT LAKE CITY — Part of a Salt Lake City road was closed and guests were evacuated from a hotel after a suspicious package was found Thursday evening.

Officials with the Salt Lake City Police Department said the package was located around 8:30 p.m. at 1345 South Foothill Drive.

“During their investigation, officers watched surveillance video that showed a man quickly putting down a backpack, positioning it in a suspicious manner and then immediately leaving,” police said.

Officers secured the area and began evacuating part of the hotel while Foothill Drive was closed between 1300 South and 2300 East.

The Hazardous Devices Unit and SLCPD’s airport K-9 division were called to assist in the investigation, and the HDU used two robots to secure the package, later described as a backpack.

Police said no explosive threat was located and items found in the backpack were “personal items.”

“Due to the ongoing investigation, specific details about what officers found inside the backpack is not being released,” officials said.

“We handle all these situations very diligently — we have to take cases very seriously,” said SLCPD spokesperson Brent Weisberg. “The last thing we want to do is endanger the public, endanger our officers or other first responders on scene.”

The road closure and hotel evacuations were lifted by 1:07 a.m. Friday. Anyone with information on the person who dropped off the backpack should call police at 801-799-3000 and reference case No. 22-99097.