Enchanted Forest evacuated after bomb threat, nothing suspicious found
Law enforcement evacuated Enchanted Forest on Thursday after a reported bomb threat involving the beloved theme park.
The threat was called in at 11:30 a.m., and Marion County Sheriff’s Office units were on scene within 10 minutes, spokesman Sgt. Jeremy Schwab said.
He declined to comment on how many people had been at the theme park at the time.
The park is just off of Interstate 5 south of Salem.
After evacuating the park as a precaution, deputies and troopers with the Oregon State Police spent an hour and a half searching for anything threatening, Schwab said.
Around 2 p.m., the sheriff’s office announced that “nothing suspicious was located” and the park would stay closed for the rest of the day “out of an abundance of caution,” according to a statement.
The threat is now being investigated by Marion County detectives, but the call appeared to be similar to 911 calls reporting fake situations, which are known as swatting, according to Schwab.
Several members of the sheriff’s office SWAT team were on scene, along with the Oregon State Police’s Bomb Detection K-9 team.
Contact reporter Madeleine Moore: [email protected].
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Madeleine Moore joined Salem Reporter in 2024 and reports on a variety of topics including public safety, addiction, treatment and the criminal justice system. She came to Salem after graduating from the University of Oregon in June 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.
