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A pressure cooker left in a parking lot outside Destin businesses led to a temporary shutdown of traffic on Highway 98 and caused the evacuation of a nearby McDonald’s restaurant, but Bay County bomb squad members say the container was determined to be empty.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad was called to 895 Harbor Boulevard Tuesday evening after the Okaloosa County Sheriff’s Office received a 9-1-1 call of a suspicious item under a tree in a parking lot.

After locating the pressure cooker, the OCSO and Destin Fire Department blocked off a portion of the parking lot and closed the nearby portion of Highway 98 as a precaution.

The Bay County S-O Bomb Squad x-rayed the item and found it was not rigged with explosives.

The OCSO will try to determine if the pressure cooker was placed in the area as a hoax.

Anyone with information is asked to contact the OCSO at 850-651-7400.

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