Suspicious device found at Belleville playground ‘neutralized’: police

A suspicious device that closed a playground along Belleville’s waterfront over the weekend was “neutralized” with help from the OPP’s bomb unit, police say.

Belleville police closed an area of the Bayshore Trail, along Keegan Parkway, after a passerby noticed what police first described as a suspicious package near a children’s playground around 8:30 a.m.

At the time police say the description of the package and its location — near the playground and a walking trail directly south of Belleville hospital — led officers to create a large perimeter “in the event it was an explosive device.”

The OPP’s explosive disposal unit was called in and local police said most of the area was reopened to the public shortly after 5 p.m.

“The Ontario Provincial Police Explosive Disposal Unit attended the scene earlier this afternoon and neutralized the suspicious device located along the trail,” Belleville police said in a statement.

Police have not said what the suspicious package turned out to be, or if it posed a danger to the public.

Belleville police continue to investigate the origin of the device and whether explosives were involved.