AKRON -- Workers at Akron City Hall have been allowed to return to the building following a brief evacuation this morning.

Akron Police Lt. Rick Edwards says the evacuation started after somebody reported a suspicious pipe was found on the third floor near council chambers around 8:30 a.m.

"We evacuated the building, bomb squad was notified (and)fire department was on scene," Edwards says.

Upon their arrival, Edwards says officers described the object as resembling a 3-4 foot long curtain rod with duct tape on both ends. The words: "Natural kaboom" were written on the object.

Upon investigating, officers determined the object was actually a homemade walking stick that belonged to a 66-year-old man who frequently attends council meetings and had left it behind.

WKYC-TV