Fisherman Reels in Vietnam-era Hand Grenade
OutdoorHub Reporters 09.15.12
Snagging what he thought was just trash, firefighter Matt Tucker instead reeled in a piece of history and an discomforting mystery on a fishing excursion.
Fishing at Fellows Lake near Springfield, Missouri, Tucker hooked a tangle of line on the bottom of the lake. As his lure came out of the water, he realized he had caught an old sock with something odd inside. Tucker, a former army member, knew exactly what the old object was inside the sock he fished out: the weight of the device inside and its pineapple ridges told him it was a Vietnam-era hand grenade, with the safety pin still intact.
According to News-Leader, Tucker gently rested the grenade in the sock on nearby rocks as he went to report his find to authorities. The Springfield Fire Department bomb squad returned to the scene to X-ray the device and send their finding to explosives experts. The explosives disposal team then retrieved the grenade and sent it off for disposal.
Springfield Fire Marshal Phil Noah said the grenade, found inside an old, white tube sock, seems to have been underwater for a long time. Officials do not believe there are more such items in the lake, hypothesizing that this grenade may have likely been disposed of to minimize harm.
