Wyoming letter termed credible risk

CHEYENNE, Wyo., Oct. 25 (UPI) -- The Wyoming state Capitol building was evacuated Friday morning after a powder-laced envelope, posing what authorities considered a credible threat, was opened in the governor's office.

Envelopes carrying anthrax powder killed five people along the East Coast of the United States just over a year ago in a series of incidents that have yet to be solved. As a precaution, four employees of the governor's office were evaluated at the Medical Center in Cheyenne and the building was evacuated.

Part of what made authorities consider the powder a credible threat was a message contained in the letter.

"There was a note in the letter," Dr. Brent Sherard told United Press International. "The people that opened (the letter) were concerned about some of the language in the letter."

Sherard is the Interim Director of the Wyoming Department of Heath and the State Health Officer. His office was charged with testing the letter to see if it contained a hazardous substance, such as anthrax.

The FBI is investigating, Sherard said, as is the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation.

No details about the envelope itself or its contents have been released, Stephen Miller, director of the Wyoming DCI, told UPI earlier Friday.

A preliminary test was negative, he said. Initial results from a culture of the material should be available Saturday evening with final results by midday Sunday.

The Wyoming Department of Health laboratory is doing the tests.

As for the employees who were exposed to the powder, Sherard said "there is no illness at this point related to this problem."

(Reported by Dee Ann Divis in Washington.)