Two post offices were evacuated Tuesday in southeastern Ohio after the discovery of objects that appeared to be pipe bombs, authorities said. No injuries were reported.
Columbus police bomb squads, the FBI, a Postal Service inspector and local authorities examined the objects found in the small towns of Guysville and Stewart.
It was not immediately clear whether the objects actually were bombs, said Lisa Fitzpatrick, a Cincinnati-based U.S. Postal Service inspector. Authorities in Guysville said the object there was considered safe, Fitzpatrick said, but she didn't have details.
A contractor who delivers mail to the post offices discovered the objects and alerted the main office in Athens, The Athens Messenger reported.
The contractor found the first object at the back door of the Guysville office and moved it slightly to make his delivery. It was about a foot long and appeared to have a transmitter, the newspaper said. The second was hanging on a side door of the Stewart office, the newspaper reported.
Postal Service spokesman Ray Jacobs said he would not speculate on why the devices were at the post offices.
"I'm sure it will be a while before the investigation uncovers why and who did it," he said.
Both towns have fewer than 100 residents each, said Athens County Planning Director Bob Eichenberg.
Authorities did not comment on whether there might be any link to explosives found Thursday at three sites in nearby Nelsonville, including one device that blew a window out of a camera shop. Three young men were charged in those incidents.