A man called in a bomb threat at the Treasure Mountain Inn on Main Street Sunday evening, claimed he had a hostage in one of the rooms and demanded $100,000, the Park City Police Department said, triggering an extraordinary law enforcement response involving a bomb squad, heavily armed officers and the evacuation of nearby buildings.
The Police Department said seven law enforcement or emergency services agencies responded. There were emergency vehicles lining the upper reaches of Main Street and Swede Alley. Police tape was posted at various locations to keep people from approaching the Treasure Mountain Inn, a lodging property toward the southern end of Main Street.
The bomb squad did not find an explosive device after searching the Treasure Mountain Inn room by room and looking for one in a parking area, the Police Department said. Some people were let back into the building as the investigation continued.
The Police Department indicated two people were questioned in connection with the bomb threat. They were arrested on drugs charges not related to the threat, according to the Police Department. It was not immediately clear whether they are suspects in the bomb threat. The police did not release information about them.
The Police Department said the anonymous threat was received by Park City dispatchers at 6:12 p.m. Law enforcement officers descended on the Treasure Mountain Inn and Main Street. Jay Randall, a police sergeant, said at the scene people were ordered out of approximately 15 buildings along Main Street and between 15 and 20 residences, apparently on residential streets close to the scene like Park Avenue.
Much of Main Street was closed to traffic. The police also closed portions of Park Avenue and Swede Alley. Dozens of onlookers gathered to watch from behind the police tape on what otherwise was expected to be a slow Easter evening as the ski season enters its final days.
The area was reopened and guests were allowed to return to the inn at about 10 p.m.
Cisero’s, a restaurant on Main Street close to the Treasure Mountain Inn, was one of the businesses in the evacuation zone. John Evans, a Cisero’s server working Sunday evening, said he saw a police officer shut down traffic and wondered whether President Obama was coming to Park City after his recent visit to Salt Lake City.
Cisero’s servers and bartenders escorted between 20 and 30 diners out the back door. The diners exited the restaurant quickly, leaving their partially eaten meals on the tables.
“We actually hear yelling in the restaurant: ‘Everyone has to get out,'” Evans said.
The Police Department on Monday morning was continuing the investigation. The police are working with federal law enforcement agencies, Police Chief Wade Carpenter said in a prepared statement.
The Treasure Mountain Inn is among the largest buildings on Main Street. Park City Councilman Andy Beerman and his wife manage the Treasure Mountain Inn and have an ownership stake in the property. They were seen inside the police zone Sunday evening, at one point consulting with Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez.
In a message Monday morning, Beerman said the Treasure Mountain Inn resumed normal operations at 10 p.m. on Sunday. He said the incident was a hoax.
“It appears the bomb threat was a hoax. The police have thoroughly checked the hotel and there are no threats. All (guests) have returned to their rooms. Treasure Mountain Inn would like to thank our (guests) for their patience, and extend a huge thank you to all the agencies involved, including: the Park City Police, Summit County Sheriff, Summit County SWAT, and PC Fire Dept. We are fortunate to have such a high quality emergency response team should we ever need to use it. Thankfully, tonight was not one of those times,” Beerman said in the message.
Beerman said in an interview there is not evidence the threat was directed at him. He said he hopes the threat was not politically motivated. He is a first-term member of the City Council.