Suspicious package detonated on USU campus was a wildlife research tracking collar

LOGAN, Utah (ABC4) — The suspicious device that caused an evacuation of the Old Main Building on USU campus has been identified as a wildlife research tracking collar.

According to USU, a university employee brought the wildlife telemetry collar, which is used for field research, and placed it outside the building so that undergraduate students could practice telemetry, a practice where researchers collect data from remote sources.

At 2:45 p.m. on Tuesday, an evacuation order was issued for the Old Main Building after an employee notified USU police about “a suspicious item placed in a suspicious manner near the exterior of Old Main,” according to the university.

Police officers located the device and determined it was non-explosive. However, usually the Explosive Ordinance Disposal Squad detonates objects with GPS signals and cell antennas out of an abundance of caution, so they detonated the collar to make sure everything was safe.

An all-clear was issued at 3:45 p.m., and activities on campus were able to return to normal.

The USU Director of Public Safety Ellis Bruch commended the actions taken by law enforcement, as USU was dealing with heightened security due to the Turning Point USA event on their campus that evening. Additionally, there have been a number of hoax threats at universities across the country in past weeks.

“Better safe than sorry isn’t a cliché. It’s a great reminder to always stay alert and diligent. We’re all better off when we’re looking out for one another. We encourage everyone that if you see something, say something. It’s good to see the system work,” Bruch said.