The grenade found on the beach

PORT CHARLOTTE, FLA. — There was an unusual midday discovery at the Port Charlotte beach complex on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

A man with a metal detector found an active grenade in the shallow water during low tide, prompting a response from law enforcement and Southwest Florida Regional Bomb Squad disposal personnel.

A bystander said he was told by a bomb squad officer that it was an M67 grenade — a fragmentation device with an effective radius of nearly 50 feet.

“He said, ‘Anybody got a phone? I found a grenade,'” said witness David Green.

Green spends a lot of free time down by the water. But none like Wednesday when just before noon, a man with a metal detector walked up to him and his friends.

Another man said he picked the grenade up and was surprised how heavy it was, and another said he was told by the bomb squad that it had only been in the water a few days.

The discovery sent lifeguard volunteers and law enforcement officers scrambling to fill sandbags in preparation for detonation.

“I knew there was a pin in it, so it was probably OK,” said Jack Orze. “It wasn’t that old. If it was really rusty I wouldn’t have touched it.”

“It could have been bad if the wrong person found it,” said Green, who also told us it took two hours for the bomb squad to show up.

The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office still won’t confirm what the device is or why they believe it was in the water.

Source: WBBH