MATTAPOISETT — An unknown object reportedly found in a child’s Easter basket during the The Mattapoisett Lions Club annual egg hunt Sunday, April 10 has prompted a call for extra caution when inspecting items collected.

A message from the Lions Club, which was posted on social media and shared by the Mattapoisett Police Department, states that an “unknown and unmarked object’’ was found during the event, which drew a significant crowd to the park at Ned’s Point.

The item was actually “a substance,’’ Lions Club Communications Director Kimberly Ray said, and was “something the child picked up, but not something provided by the Lions Club as part of the egg hunt.”

Participants brought their own baskets to collect the eggs. 

Mattapoisett Police contacted Lions Club President Valerie Kane after a family reported the substance, she said. “It was something in a little baggie,” she said.

The police told her they would not be testing the item, she said.

Kane said that the Lions Club was encouraged by police to put out the statement on social media, but club members are leaving the rest to the police department. 

Because all of the eggs are filled and placed by Lions Club staff, and then opened and returned to staff during the event, Kane feels confident that the club is not responsible. 

“It’s our assumption the child just picked it up off the ground,” said Kane, who pointed out that if it was something in an egg, they would have likely seen and known about it. 

The Mattapoisett Police Department declined to immediately provide further details, citing an ongoing investigation.