Suspicious Fruitcake Shuts Down Seattle Ferry Terminal

SEATTLE, WA - Everyone who's tried one knows fruitcakes aren't the bomb. But a fruitcake did shut down Seattle's busiest ferry dock on Tuesday because police thought it was a bomb.

At about 10 a.m. Tuesday, Seattle police and Washington State Patrol responded to the Colman Dock in downtown Seattle on a report of a suspicious package. The package, which was fully gift-wrapped, was in the passenger waiting area under a Christmas tree.

The entire dock was evacuated as Seattle police investigated the possible bomb. Police were able to confirm the package contained a fruitcake by around 11 a.m., and the ferry terminal was reopened.

WSP Trooper Kevin Fortino said police were most concerned because the package didn't have an address label, and it was left under a tree that never previously had gifts under it.

“The suspicious package was a wrapped present located underneath a Christmas tree in the terminal’s lobby. The Christmas tree itself was a decoration, and there had not been any presents located under the tree during its time displayed. Furthermore, there was no address label on the box itself which was concerning for responding emergency personnel,” Fortino said in a press release.

However, police did not comment why someone would abandon a perfectly good - or at least intact - fruitcake at the terminal.

Image courtesy Washington State Department of Transportation