PORT TOWNSEND — A World War II-era grenade found buried in the sand near the Point Wilson Lighthouse in Fort Worden has been destroyed.
An unnamed man, an area resident, was walking the beach Sunday when he found partially buried in the sand what is known as a “pineapple” grenade because of its grooved metal appearance, according to a news release from the Port Townsend Police Department.
He did not want to leave the grenade on the beach, so he took it to his home on Landes Street and then called 9-1-1 to report his finding, according to police.
The State Patrol Bomb Squad picked up the grenade at about 9 p.m. Sunday and took it to be destroyed, police said.
Rangers at Fort Worden State Park reminded visitors that items found in the park that appear to be of historical or archaeological significance should not be removed — especially if it is potentially dangerous.
“Don’t pick it up,” Ranger Brian Hageman said in the news release. “Note the location and call 9-1-1.”
A park ranger searched the beach west of the Point Wilson Lighthouse where the grenade was found and found no other grenades nor any other items of interest, police said.
Fort Worden was part of a coastal defense system built in the late 1800s called the “Triangle of Fire” and functioned as a military base through both World War I and World War II.
This isn’t the first time law enforcement has investigated reports of ordnance found outdoors locally.
In June 2016, an unfired World War 11 artillery shell was found on a beach at Land’s End in Port Townsend. Navy Explosive Ordnance Disposal technicians told Port Townsend police it was in no danger of exploding before they took it to dispose of it.
In December 2012, a WWII-era grenade was found in the parking lot of the Four Corners Grocery Store. The State Patrol Bomb Squad investigated.
In 2011, a suspicious object was investigated at North Beach Park by Port Townsend police, but that ended up being a leftover firework.
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Jefferson County Editor/
