The Washington State Patrol’s bomb squad was called to Port Townsend March 19 in response to a 911 call from a man who had found what appeared to be a World War II–era grenade buried in the sand at Fort Worden State Park.

“It appeared very old,” said Port Townsend Police Department (PTPD) spokeswoman Keppie Keplinger. “He didn’t want to leave it at the beach.”

The man took the grenade home and called 911, she said.

“He saw the texture, and it didn’t look like a rock,” Fort Worden Park Ranger Brian Hageman said of the grenade. “He told officers that there were so many people and kids around that he didn’t feel safe just leaving it there, and that he didn’t want to leave it to try and find a park ranger. It still wasn’t a smart idea, especially since he took an hour after finding it to put in the call.”

The WSP bomb squad responded to the man’s home on Landes Street just before 9 p.m. and took the grenade for destruction, Keplinger said. She declined to name the man who found the grenade.

Hageman confirmed that Fort Worden State Park rangers proceeded to conduct two separate searches of the beach west of the Point Wilson lighthouse, where the man had been walking.

The first was conducted by a state park ranger immediately after the call was received, but because of the high tide and storm debris on the beach, the ranger was unable to locate any other suspicious items, Keplinger said.

“He could only go so far with his search,” said Hageman, who led the second search group of three employees for several hours on the morning of Monday, March 20.

“We called the man back in, to make sure we had the exact location where he’d found the grenade right, but there was no evidence that it was part of a storage unit or a collection,” Hageman said.

Although he believes this was an isolated incident, Hageman said people walking the beach in that area should exercise caution if they find anything resembling a grenade.

“Don’t pick it up,” Hageman said. “Note the location and call 911.”

PTPD Detective Patrick Fudally, who responded to the incident, said officers have found other old ordnance shells in the area in the past. The WSP took possession of the grenade and is likely to destroy the weapon in the WSP’s gravel pit, Keplinger said.

DON’T REMOVE HISTORY

Any item appearing to be of historical or archaeological significance may not be removed from the site where it is found.

Additionally, the use of metal detectors is permitted only within some parts of approved state parks per WAC 352-32-235, the press release said.