Police: WWII grenade found in basement of EC home
Jun. 19—EAU CLAIRE — A World War II-era hand grenade was found in the basement of an Eau Claire residence, police say.
The grenade, which appeared to be live, was disposed of by a bomb squad, police said.
According to Eau Claire police:
A resident who lives on the city's northwest side called authorities Thursday morning after finding the grenade in his basement.
The man said the grenade belonged to his father-in-law and had been in the family for years.
The man said he had last seen the grenade about three years ago when he moved his mother-in-law to Eau Claire. But he thought the grenade had been disposed of then.
On Monday, June 14, the man said, he had been moving his mother-in-law's items and again found the grenade packed in a plastic tote of memorabilia.
A police officer examined the grenade, which was found in an area near a rim joist.
The officer discovered that the grenade was intact and not marked with anything denoting that it was fake or inert.
Because the grenade had two plugs, which were both in place, the officer was concerned that it may be a live grenade.
The officer took photos of the grenade and sent them to the Marathon County Bomb Squad.
The officer asked the Bomb Squad to come to Eau Claire to identify the grenade and possibly dispose of it.
Two Bomb Squad technicians came to Eau Claire and examined the grenade.
They stabilized the device and completed a preliminary x-ray.
The x-ray showed the grenade was likely live.
The technicians took the grenade and planned to dispose of it after they returned to Marathon County.
