The Grays Harbor County Auditor’s Office was evacuated on Thursday morning following a comment that someone took as a potential bomb threat.

According to Montesano Police Chief Brett Vance, the bomb scare was a misunderstanding. An elderly man called the auditor’s office and said he received a primary ballot in the mail for his wife who had recently died, and just wanted to know what he should do with it.

The man tried to reach the auditor’s office on Wednesday, calling multiple extensions, but no one picked up.

The man was able to reach an employee Thursday morning. In his frustration he said something to the effect of hiding under a desk in case a bomb went off. The building was then emptied for 45 minutes as a precaution. The man was contacted and stopped in at the office, where he apologized for the misunderstanding, said Vance.