MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — Authorities say a man building a fence in Southern Oregon unearthed a hand grenade, but it wasn’t the real thing. State police describe it as an “inert training device,” probably from the nearby World War II training base Camp White.
Phillip Estevens tells the Medford Mail Tribune his son-in-law was digging a post hole last weekend, and the grenade rolled out of a shovelful of dirt.
That rattled the man, who didn’t touch the device. The Oregon State Police bomb squad soon determined it wasn’t explosive and removed it. The post hole is about 100 feet from Estevens’ house in a rural area near White City.
Estevens says the officers told him the grenade probably was on someone’s backpack and fell off during a hike.
