By Charles Lefebvre

Kin Coulee Park reopens after police render suspicious item safe

Feb 5, 2019 | 3:34 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB — Kin Coulee Park has reopened to the public after being closed for several hours by police after a suspicious device was discovered on a walking trail Tuesday morning.

According to Inspector Joe West with the Medicine Hat Police Service, the call came in around 9 a.m., after a female pedestrian walking their dog noticed the item near the tunnel that runs under the highway in the park. West says the device “appeared to have all the earmarks of a pipe bomb,” but didn’t go into any further detail about the appearance of the item.

“It certainly caused some alarm for her, and (she) called police immediately,” he said.

Police blocked off the park from the toboggan hill to the dog park to allow the Explosive Disposal Unit to work. St. Mary’s School and the Medicine Hat Catholic Board of Education office both implemented a shelter in place, meaning doors were locked and occupants were not allowed outside, though regular activities occurred inside.

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West says public safety is of primary importance during these calls.

“There’s really nothing more important than public safety,” he said. “We do everything we can, within reason. We have to look at what the risks are and take appropriate measures to make sure there’s no chance of anybody getting hurt.”

Police also temporarily closed the Kin Coulee Dip on the Trans-Canada Highway twice while the Explosive Disposal Robot fired a munition to break the item apart, and render the device safe.

The park was reopened to the public by 2:30 p.m.

West says the Major Crimes Section has taken over the investigation, and will partnering with the forensic identification unit to determine the origin of the item, and if it was indeed explosive.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call police at 403-529-8481 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.