Lyon Township, Michigan Kathryn Bowring and her family were hosting a sale at her late stepfather Jim Birckelbaw's barn when a customer discovered a WWI artillery shell in the corner. After her son-in-law, an Army veteran, carefully moved the 30-lb ordnance out of sight, she notified police.

"A deputy from Lyon Township came out and seemed a little freaked out about the whole thing," she said. "He went to the car and called his boss and an hour later four police officers from different agencies showed up, and they were curious."

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Colorado Springs, Colorado A neighborhood in northeast Colorado Springs was evacuated after officers responded to a "possible grenade" inside a garage, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department (CSPD). The resident wisely notified authorities after discovering what appeared to be a WWII-era grenade in a box that had been inherited.

The area was cleared as the Regional Explosives Unit (REU) responded to the scene due to the "shrapnel-related" nature of the device, police said. After REU recovered the grenade, it was turned over to military EOD for disposal.

The type / nomenclature of the grenade was not reported.

Potomac, Maryland Family members going through the belongings their deceased family member, a WWII veteran, found some items that were more than nostalgic, they were potentially deadly. A mortar round and grenade were found in the Maryland home, not far from Wayside Elementary School.

According to Pete Piringer of Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service, the county bomb squad, consulting with a military EOD unit responded. He said, "Based on the information that was provided, they conducted further assessment and deemed it an emergency situation. So, the items were packaged and relocated to a nearby campground on Tuckerman Lane and they were disposed of without any incident."

St. George, Canada Authorities evacuated nearby residents after a WWII-era munition was found during renovations of a St. George home. Police responded to the scene and consulted with Canadian military personnel who determined that the item presented no risk and safely removed it from the home.

Garden City, Kansas An old military footlocker can be a treasure trove of history and sentiment, but a Garden City family found a bit more than that while going through one in their home. To the shock of family, the locker held two old grenades. Kansas Highway bomb technicians and EOD from McConnell Air Force Base responded to the scene and nearby residents were evacuated.

EOD inspected the locker and ordered it be moved to the Finney County Road Department sand pits where a counter charge was placed, and the items in the footlocker were destroyed. It is unclear how long the grenades had been in the footlocker, but the family made a wise decision to notify authorities.

Ardmore, Pennsylvania EOD officials took away what were described by the homeowner as WWI shells given to him by an uncle who served in the war. According to Lower Merion Police Captain William Bogley, the two mortars, approximately eight inches long and three inches in diameter, were removed without incident from an attached garage on the property.

The two shells were taken from the garage and placed in a yard where they were examined and later placed by hand into a truck for removal. Officials on scene said it was unclear if the shells were live or inert. No injuries were reported.

Bellows Falls, Vermont A Vermont State Police bomb squad was called to the home of a woman who found an array of WWII munitions in her basement, said to be "souvenirs" brought home by her veteran father, decades ago. She found them in a box marked with Japanese writing. Upon inspection, it was found to contain a variety of ammo, including two grenades, high-explosive mortar rounds and anti-aircraft rounds. Authorities turned the munitions over to the Vermont Air National Guard. It is believed that the munitions had been demilitarized, though one grenade was questionable.

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Tuscola, Illinois University of Illinois police reported to a call of a missing elderly man who neighbors claimed had not been seen for days. Police knocked on the man's front door but did not get a answer. Upon investigating the residence, police were able to enter the home through a door in the back of the house. Inside the home, the police found the dead body of 70-year old resident. He reportedly died of a hear attack related to complications from diabetes.

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Centreville, Alabama A road construction company working on a bridge noticed a cache of weapons in a shallow creek in Bibb County. The workers called the police who responded with ATF agents. Authorities removed the weapons collection, which included WWII era weapons from Japan, Italy and Germany. Included in the collection was a 50mm mortar, a 20mm cannon, two belt-fed machine guns and a Thompson machine gun. Nine weapons were found in all. Most were in great condition with no rust. No ammunition was recovered. Authorities suspect that the weapons collection was stolen and then subsequently thrown into the creek. No one has claimed the collection yet which is valued at over $20,000.

Plattsburgh, New York A local family donated an old civil war era munition to the Battle of Plattsburgh Association that they had in their possession. The president of the association inspected the munition and discovered that it had the potential to contain a live fuse. The bomb was then transported to the Plattsburgh City Police Station for further analysis.

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