Grenade found lying on Poplar Bluff street

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A bomb disposal team was called to remove a hand grenade Wednesday afternoon after its discovery by a Poplar Bluff Street Department crew.

"We were just cutting brush back from a street right of way, and as they were picking up the brush, they saw [the grenade] laying in there," said Jeremy Grable, street department superintendent.

The Poplar Bluff Police Department was called at 1:25 p.m.

When officers arrived, they found the "World War II-looking grenade" lying off the side of the road, within two feet of the curb side, according to police chief Danny Whiteley.

Police cordoned off the area and notified the Southeast Missouri Regional Bomb Team, Whiteley said. The team, including police patrolmen Darron Moore and Jeff Hovis, was in training at Sikeston, Mo., that day, he said.

While waiting for the team, officers blocked off part of Fifth Street, deputy chief Jeff Rolland said. Two houses, one of which was unoccupied, were within that secured area.

"The two occupants came home and cooperated fully," Rolland said. "They stayed away and became sightseers at a safe distance."

When the four team members arrived, they deployed a robot, which retrieved the grenade and put it in a containment vessel, Whiteley said.

After officers cleared the scene shortly after 4 p.m., the containment vessel was taken back to Sikeston.

"We've found strange things. ... This is one of the most cautious things we've found," Grable said.

Pertinent address:

Fifth Street, Poplar Bluff, MO