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PALM HARBOR - A fake bomb and a threatening note outside a bank prompted Pinellas County sheriff's officials to close several roads in the historic downtown area for more than 21/2 hours Tuesday.
Authorities closed parts of Nebraska Avenue and 11th Street after an employee found a small cardboard box about 8:40 a.m. outside the First National Bank at 1026 Nebraska Ave. With the box was an envelope that included a note demanding money and stating the box contained a bomb, sheriff's spokesman Detective Tim Goodman said. As a precaution, sheriff's officials also evacuated a handful of businesses on the south side of Nebraska Avenue.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office bomb unit determined there were items inside the box to make it look like a bomb, but that there was no bomb. Roads were reopened shortly before noon.