Suspicious Man Leads to Underground Bomb Scare in Oklahoma City

Staff and Wire Reports

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Oklahoma City police called off an investigation downtown concerning a suspicious man going in and out of manholes after it was determined the man was working for a contractor hired by the city.

Initial reporters indicated police were possibly looking for a suspicious package believed to be in a manhole downtown on the east side of the federal courthouse, at the intersection of Dean A. McGee Street and Robinson Avenue.

Sgt. Jennifer Wardlow said police were called about 10 a.m. Friday by a witness who said a man in plain clothing was lifting manhole covers. Wardlow said surveillance video from nearby buildings showed a man going inside then leaving one of the manholes.

Several streets in the area were closed and the police department's bomb squad was called. All streets were back open at 1:15 p.m.

According to Wardlow, the man is a contract worker. He went down into a hole to take measurements when someone spotted him and called police. The company the man worked for called police to tell them of the man's actions and the investigation was called off.

"This suspicious man is actually a contractor who works for a business who is doing some type of renovation on the water system," Wardlow said.

However there was no way to know because what the worker was wearing didn't have a company logo on it and the truck he was driving was unmarked. That was something city leaders said is not how it's normally done.

"We told everyone you need to have identification, a loud orange or yellow vest, make sure people can understand why you're in a space normally people aren't in," said Laura Story, Oklahoma City Assistant City Engineer. "I have a feeling there was a young person who was out researching something and they're inexperienced and they made some choices that are going to be rather embarrassing once we figure out who did this."

In light of this incident, city officials said they will be talking with all contractors who work with the city and remind them the importance of wearing the right clothing.

It is not clear exactly what company the man was working for.

The only building that was evacuated during the investigation was the federal courthouse.

No injuries were reported.