A 79-year-old Austin Township woman reported finding an apparent mailbox bomb Thursday, the second such incident in rural Austin in recent weeks.

A sheriff’s officer was dispatched around 7 p.m. to the 17000 block of 560th Avenue. The woman said when she checked her mail that afternoon, she found a plastic sports bottle that had ruptured and spilled a gray liquid, which appeared to be a mix of drain cleaner and tin foil.

The officer removed the object. No fingerprints could be obtained because the bottle was covered with chemicals and it was destroyed, according to a sheriff’s report.

The woman said she had no enemies and thought she was targeted at random. No suspects were named in the report.

The officer said he believes the incident could be related to another mailbox bomb report on July 29, when a 46-year-old man found a swollen Gatorade bottle filled with a brown liquid and lighter-colored substance on top.

That incident occurred in Windom Township, roughly five miles from Thursday’s incident.

Both incidents involved sports beverage bottles and occurred in mailboxes not easily visible from the respective homes, the report states.

Also, both occurred near flat, long roads, meaning the culprit or culprits could’ve seen traffic coming from a ways away.

The 46-year-old man told authorities he suspected two people, one of whom had been harassing him recently. However, he was unable to provide any proof that either person made or planted the object.

Sheriff Terese Amazi said Friday that she has seen similar strings of incidents in the past, usually involving “Drano bombs” or “chlorine bombs.”

Amazi said residents that notice what appears to be a mailbox bomb should alert authorities rather than handle the object.

“They’re dangerous, no doubt about it,” she said.

Amazi said if the bomb hasn’t ruptured, it can explode on contact.

No additional mailbox bombs were found during neighborhood searches after each incident. Amazi said there would be extra patrol in the area, looking for suspicious activity.