Just before noon Thursday a 68-year-old man brought an unexploded grenade to The Mitchell Police Department so that the grenade could be destroyed. Apparently, the man found the grenade while helping a friend clean out a building that was in rural Davison County, located to the Northeast of Mitchell.
A Davison County Sheriff’s Office Deputy searched the property where the hand grenade was found. No other explosives were found. It is believed that a deceased relative of the property owner acquired the grenade several years ago.
As a precaution, streets surrounding the Mitchell Police Division were closed until the grenade was determined to be safe to handle. The grenade was then transported from the scene to a secure location where it will remain until it is destroyed. Nobody was injured during this process. It is believed at this time, that the grenade may be a training grenade. This is an ongoing investigation.
The South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation and The Davison County Sheriff’s Office assisted with this investigation.
The public is reminded to never touch or transport anything that is believed to be unexploded ordinance or other explosives. If you believe that you have encountered something dangerous such as this, get away from the object as fast as you can and call 911 when it is safe to do so.
