3-year-old was digging in new home's front yard—surprised parents when he returned with a strange World War II relic
Many kids are known to be curious about their surroundings, especially if they find themselves in a new place. A 3-year-old was also curious when his family moved into a new house. So he went out and decided to do some digging in his front yard. However, he actually ended up finding something. The boy, Damon, then rushed inside the house to share his new discovery with his parents. The couple, Amanda and Zane, were shocked to see what their son had found out, per TODAY.com.
The family had just moved into a new house in Washington State. So the parents were busy setting up all their stuff when Damon ran out to look around the house. He came in screaming for his mom and dad to show them what he had found. Soon enough, Amanda noticed that her son had actually found a grenade. "I'm like, 'OK. It’s a novelty grenade, no big deal.' Then I felt it… and it was heavy." Through Google Image Search, the mom found out that the grenade might be associated with World War II. "Everything that popped up was hand grenade from World War II." The woman was terrified at the very real possibility that it could be an actual grenade. She immediately called 911 and informed them about the situation.
The Washington State Patrol bomb squad arrived at the location to have a look at the grenade. According to a Facebook post from the Grant County Sheriff's Office - WA, the hand grenade was live and had to be safely disposed of by the bomb squad. It was found in the family's property at 600 block of Willard Street in Hartline. "Patrol deputies asked for the WSP bomb squad to assist. Bomb techs determined the grenade was live, then carefully removed the device to a rural area north of Hartline and disposed of it." The officials confirmed that the grenade was similar to the kind used during World War II and had been exposed to "the elements" for quite some time.
"It’s not known how the grenade ended up in the family’s front yard, nor how long it had been there." The department shared a photo of the grenade that had been found by the boy. Amanda hoped that the State Patrol bomb squad could return to her house and check the entire area to confirm no more such devices were around, per TODAY.com. "I need to know our yard is completely safe for kids. As a mom, I need that peace of mind." Many people shared their thoughts on the terrifying discovery in the comments section of the Facebook post.
April Metz de Montiel wrote, "I found one of these in our garden, digging up old tomato plants in the fall. I was a teenager in the 1980s and this was in the Midwest. The weirdest thing was that growing up on that farm, I had had nightmares since I was 3 that there was a bomb buried exactly where the garden was. Freaked out my folks. I felt validated for all those years of nightmares! Ha ha! The County Sheriff was my dad's best friend. The pin was still intact and it was WWII era. (we purchased land in the early 70s) The bomb squad was called. Exciting times on the farm." Kelly Messer commented, "I’d get out a metal detector and sweep the yard." Jen Karlsen joked, "I'm now feeling better about my toddler coming to me with a live spider, which she turned loose on my lap."