Suspicious device found in Moultonborough later identified as geocache

MOULTONBOROUGH — A report of a suspicious device closed a road in this town this week. That device turned out to be a geocache.

Police shut down Lees Mill Road between Lee and Hayes roads on Wednesday morning, after a suspicious device was discovered in Lee Cemetery, according to a department post on social media at 10:44 a.m.

"All it was was a geocache," Moultonborough Police Chief Peter Beede said Thursday afternoon. 

After receiving multiple citizen reports regarding the device in the cemetery, police went there to have themselves a look. They came upon a homemade contraption, what appeared to be a pill bottle complete with wires and tape. 

The New Hampshire State Police Explosive Ordinance Disposal Unit responded to investigate, according to the department's social media post. Moultonborough police asked residents to avoid the area.

At 10:33 a.m. on Aug. 6, State Police dispatch received a report of a suspicious device on Lees Mill Road, a State Police spokesperson confirmed Thursday. Members of the Explosive Ordinance Disposal team responded, located the item, and determined it posed no hazard. The "bomb squad" was just one trooper.

Just before noon on Wednesday, local police said the road was reopened, the device had been rendered safe and no hazard was found. Police thanked the community for their cooperation.

There was nothing criminal about the incident, so there are no anticipated charges, Beede said. He's not sure what happened to the contraption after State Police determined it wasn't dangerous, but suspects it was disposed of. 

"I'm not sure where it went after that," he said. 

A geocache is part of a geolocation-based scavenger hunt game.