An unmarked envelope filled with a white substance and a threatening note forced the evacuation and search of Carroll County Intermediate School on Friday.

Carroll County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Greg Smith said around 10 a.m. on Friday, he received a call from CCIS administrators informing him of the envelope, which came via the mail. The envelope contained an unidentified substance and a letter informing officials that there was a bomb or some sort of explosive device on campus.

Smith said school officials contacted local law enforcement agencies, including the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, the Hillsville Police Department and local EMS, fire and rescue squads, and went ahead with the crisis management plan, which involved shuttling students, faculty and staff to Carroll County High School, where they were fed and kept safe in the auditorium.

Smith praised the efforts of school officials in making sure the evacuation and movement of such a large number of students was done properly.

“I think we did a marvelous job. Despite the tremendous resources expended in this incident, I have to compliment the staff at the Intermediate School, the School Board staff, the transportation staff and the members of the high school staff that joined to manage this incident with such grace and such ease. They truly conducted themselves in a wonderful manner and maintained the safety of the students; maintained the integrity of the crisis process in a very professional way.”

Sheriff Warren Manning said his department got the call at 10:34 and assisted in the efforts. He said it was unfortunate that somebody decided to take such action to scare so many.

“It’s a shame they did all this to interrupt the school system,” Manning said. “To be the nothing that it was, it messed up a lot of peoples’ day and put a lot of fear in people’s minds.”

Meanwhile, the Virginia State Police, Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the State Police Bomb Search Unit and FBI were contacted and conducted an investigation.

“They responded quickly,” Smith said. “I have to compliment all of the public services, including the Sheriff’s Department, Hillsville Police, local EMS, fire, safety, everyone that was a part of this process. They did a marvelous job.”

No explosives were found during a sweep of the school, and according to Virginia Department of Emergency Management Hazardous Materials Officer Jack Tolbert, the contents of the envelope were discovered to be carbohydrates, similar to rice cereal or corn starch. Tolbert said the envelope has been sent to the state lab for further investigation.

With the threat quelled, Smith said the first job of school administrators in such cases is to ensure the safety of their students and employees, and he commended all involved for doing just that.

“We must first maintain the safety of our students and our staff. All of the protocols we follow are in place to protect those that work in and attend the schools,” Smith said, noting in 24 years in public education, he has been through similar incidents in the past. “During that period of time, I have not experienced a credible threat. They are usually similar to this; they are a hoax perpetrated by a student or someone very close to the school setting. Unfortunately, this event utilizes tremendous resources and it’s very frustrating to see the students and staff taken out of their classrooms, taken out of the school and thrust into a situation that is not a productive setting.”

And Smith said the school system will do all it can to find the perpetrators. Local, state and federal agencies are investigating the incident.

“This is a certain waste of our resources and our instructional time and we intend to thoroughly investigate this manner,” Smith said. “When we find the person or persons responsible for this, we will prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law.”