By Emily Clark, LocalNews8 Reporter

IONA - Early Tuesday morning, people looking for their mail at the Iona Post Office found a box built to look like a bomb and had the word "bomb" written on it. It turned out it wasn't an explosive, but figuring out what it was and whether it was safe or not caused problems for people living along Main Street between Hansen and Rockwood in Iona.

For John Stanger, who lives on Main Street, he first heard about the problems first thing Tuesday morning.

"I had friends this morning call me and say something was going on, but nobody really knew what," he said.

Something definitely was going on. A box was found outside the post office raising red flags to people coming early to get their mail.

Sergeant Karl Noah, from the Bonneville Sheriff's Office, said "When we arrived there was a package outside the building, so we cleared the homes."

Once the neighborhood was cleared, the bomb squad arrived. Wearing their protective gear the bomb technician x-rayed the box and self detonated it. When the box was secured, Idaho Falls hazmat crews were able to determine what was inside, and it turned out to only be soapy water.

In talking to people who have lived in the community for a while, they say they have never seen anything like this before.

"It definitely was the most excitement we've had in a while," said Stanger. "It's a small town, probably kids playing a prank, but the post office was the wrong place to do it."

Because of the location where the box was found, there could be even greater consequences for those found responsible.

Shannon Basaraba, Iona Chief of Police, said "Since this happened on federal property, federal charges could apply. So, we'll wait and see."

Now begins the hard part: figuring out how the box got outside the post office and who put it there.

Although there are no surveillance cameras outside the post office, there are at the Iona city buildings right next to the post office.  Investigators will be reviewing tape to see if the cameras caught the suspect in action.

The sheriff's office also needs your help to figure out who is responsible for getting the box to the post office. If you have any information, call the Bonneville County Dispatch at 529-1200.