Live grenade found in Great Miami River in Middletown

A live grenade was found Saturday evening in the Great Miami River in Middletown.

Ryan Goodwin was fly fishing and wading into the river at 6:47 p.m. about out 20 feet off the bank in the area of Miami River Park on North Verity Parkway when he saw the grenade, according to Middletown police.

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Goodwin, who is in the military, said he recognized the device and called police.

Specialist Mike Grimes of the Butler County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad responded to the scene and took possession of what he described as an “old pineapple grenade.”

He estimated the grenade was in about two feet of water.

“Probably Vietnam era,” he said. “But it is live and dangerous. Military devices are made to work in water.”

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Grimes said someone likely threw it in the river to get rid of it.

“They probably got afraid of it,” he said. “It could have been very serious if someone else had found it.”

Grimes said if people have a device the want to dispose of, they should call the sheriff’s office so that the bomb squad can ensure a safe disposal.

The grenade will be safely “counter charged,” or detonated, today, according to Grimes.

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