PLANO – Police unfurled crime scene tape through the women's clothes racks at a Plano Macy's store Friday.

At one point, law enforcement might have outnumbered shoppers at The Shops at Willow Bend.

"We decided to bring the bomb team out, deploy a mechanical robot to go in the mall," said Officer Rick McDonald, Plano Police spokesman.

A suspicious briefcase was found abandoned inside one of the mall’s common areas, near the first floor entrance to the Macy’s store, just before lunch.

"Minimal stores were closed,” McDonald added. “There are some kiosks and shops there that we went ahead and closed and evacuated those people.”

Part of Macy's was, too.

Outside, after retrieving the bag, Plano Police's robot shook it, prodded it, even emptied part of it.

“At anytime an owner could claim that thing,” said McDonald. “[They] could come up and tell us he left something behind. But right now we just don't know."

David Smith's secretary saw it all unfold on the news during lunch.

"She said, 'they have the whole area closed. There's a mysterious bag,'” Smith recalled. “I said 'that's my bag!'"

It was.

"I just feel terribly embarrassed,” Smith said. “I feel like crawling in a hole right now."

Smith identified the papers inside to police including an investment portfolio, his checkbook and other things before being allowed to enter what was, for two and a half hours, a crime scene.

"My apologies for everyone I inconvenienced today,” Smith said. “It was just an innocent mistake."

E-mail jwhitely@wfaa.com