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   St. Louis County Police say a bomb scare that forced the evacuation of about 30 Spanish Lake residents Tuesday afternoon was a false alarm.  

   It began about 4:30 p.m. at a home in the 1400 block of Twillman Avenue. 

   Investigators say family members had been going through the belongings of an elderly man who'd recently died when they came upon a box marked 1954.  The relatives had already found blasting caps nearby and they initially thought the pipes and other materials in the box were old explosives. So they called police.  

   The County's Bomb and Arson Squad was called in and an area of about 300 yards around the home was evacuated.  

   The elderly gentleman had been a pilot and it turned out the box contained old aircraft parts and not  explosives. 

Police say a tense situation at Peabody Plaza Wednesday evening was a false alarm.

The St. Louis City police bomb and arson squad was called to the downtown plaza just after 6:00 pm because of a suspicious backpack. Police sealed off the area around 7th street and Market along with 8th and Chestnut as a precaution.

Peabody Energy has been the target of recent labor protests.

A search of the backpack, revealed that it contained only clothes.