By Shereen Siewert | Wausau Pilot & Review
A call from the 988 crisis line led the Mosinee School District to evacuate all students and staff from buildings and prompted an investigation involving nearly 10 law enforcement agencies, police say.
The Marathon County dispatch center received information just before noon on Thursday, Feb. 1 alerting them to a bomb threat at Mosinee High School, 1000 High St. The initial information suggested multiple bombs were hidden on school premises.
Mosinee Police immediately contacted school officials and requested mutual aid from surrounding agencies. Police and school officials placed the elementary, middle and high schools in a hold at 12:06 p.m. and began an evacuation about 20 minutes later.
High school students and staff were evacuated to the Mosinee Recreation Center, while middle school students were taken to St. Paul’s Catholic Church. Parents were notified, and students were reunited with their parents.
A systematic search was conducted of all three school structures that included six police dogs trained in explosives detection. Police combed the buildings for hours, finally concluding at about 6:40 p.m. that no threat existed.
Classes for Friday have been canceled district-wide in Mosinee.
Marathon County, Outagamie, Wood County and Brown County Sheriff’s officials assisted, along with the Kronenwetter, Rothschild and U.W. Madison Police Department. The Wisconsin State Patrol also assisted, according to a news release from Mosinee Police Chief Ken Grams.
As the investigation continues, anyone with information should call the Mosinee Police Department by calling 715-693-2000.
