Police: White powder in letter that briefly closed Stover business a false alarm

Stover police say a situation involving white powder sent by mail to a person in the area turned out to be a false alarm.

Chief Trampus Jackson posted about the incident on the department’s Facebook page Thursday.

Police say they responded to the Phillips 66 gas station Thursday at the request of a Missouri State Highway Patrolman.

Police say a 47-year-old female reported opening a letter she got in the mail and said a white, unknown powder came out of it and fell onto her.

police say they discovered that the letter was from a business in New York, but say it was mailed from Santa Barbara, California.

Police say the Phillips 66 was at that time blocked off because of the unknown nature of the powder and for safety considerations of the public.

Mid Mo Ambulance apparently then staged in the area and police say the fire department responded to the scene.

Officers say they also made contact with the Cole County Haz-Mat team. That team reportededly told police how to handle substance and personnel on scene and told officers they would be responding from Jefferson City, Missouri.

Stover Police and a Highway Patrol trooper then started trying to track down the company and any other leads on where the letter may have come from.

Chief Trampus Jackson apparently found out the woman involved had a daughter in the state of California and got a number to call her.

Police say the daughter eventually called back and was able to confirm that the letter was from her son. The daughter told officers the envelope had been recycled and used from an elementary in the state of California. Police say the daughter from California used glitter and glue that dried and turned to a powder.

After confirming this, police were able to clear the scene and Phillips 66 was opened back up for business.