Suspicious packages and threatening notes left at two Aspen banks have cleared out downtown on one of this legendary party town’s most festive nights, cancelling fireworks and sending investigators in search of a 71-year-old former resident.
The Wells Fargo Bank at 119 S. Mill St. discovered a package with a note at about 2:30 p.m.. A few minutes later, the Vectra Bank at 534 East Hyman Ave. received a similar package.
The Aspen Police Department said the packages came with “a note (that) indicated a credible threat to the community.”
Authorities weren’t sure what was inside the packages, in Christmas wrapping with pizza boxes underneath, Officer Stephanie Dasaro said.
Surveillance pictures got a clear photo of an older man.
At a 10:30 p.m. press conference, authorities said they were looking for Jim Blanning. Public records show Blanning is a former Aspen resident who has lived in a Denver apartment since 2003.
Anyone with information about Blanning can call 970-429-1830.
Police aren’t yet elaborating on the contents of the packages or notes, or what elevated the threat to “credible.”
The packages are in Christmas wrapping sitting on pizza boxes in black sleds.
Some people went to evacuation centers set up at schools, but most visitors were holed up in their hotels outside the evacuated 16-block area, said Aspen resident Bridgett Bowers, who lives about five blocks from the area.
Witnesses said the evacuation zone stretches from Original Street on the east to Monarch Street on the west, and from Main Street on the north to Cooper Street on the south.
“It started as something small and now they’ve cordoned off pretty much all of downtown,” she said at about 8 p.m.
Bowers said people are “pretty freaked out,” and dismayed about the lack of information from local authorities.
“It’s pretty frightening, because it just keeps going on and on, and nobody is saying what’s really going on,” she said. “Everybody I’ve talked to is pretty scared.”
At first there was only one fire truck in front of one bank, then soon fire trucks, police vehicles and even snowplows were being used to block off streets.
The Pitkin County Sheriff’s Office, Basalt police, the Snowmass Village Fire Department, Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Grand Junction bomb squad are investigating, Aspen police said.
Regardless of the outcome of investigations and searches, Aspen’s expensive clubs and restaurants stand to lose a lot of money. Venues in the fashionable city are typically packed on New Year’s Eve with wealthy and sometimes famous tourists and residents.
Tens of thousands turn out each year for the fireworks over Aspen Mountain and a traditional bonfire in Wagner Park.
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
