We all love a good conspiracy story, but sometimes, the answer is much simpler.
If you are a small, isolated community, and you have a disgruntled staff member (implicated in a significant crime) making veiled threats about serial killers, evacuation is probably a pretty good plan.
"After Cope could not find his laptop, the court documents said, he began to act frantically and told the chief observer that there was a “serial killer in the area, and that he was fearful that the killer might enter the facility and execute someone.”
The observatory closed, without consulting FBI agents, after Cope’s comments about the serial killer and his erratic behavior, the warrant said."
https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/new...hy/1374860002/