WWI shell safely detonated near Fort after determined to be live

FORT RECOVERY - Authorities on Wednesday safely detonated a live World War I artillery shell that a village family had owned for generations.

Fort Recovery Police Chief Jared Laux said in a news release that he had been contacted on Wednesday afternoon to examine the old artillery shell. Family members wanted the shell to be inspected because they wanted to donate it to the local historical society. Laux visited the home and met with the owner, who handed him the device. It was a Model 1907 M military ordnance, which Laux described as being about 11 inches long and 3 inches in diameter.

According to the news release, the owners had believed the shell either was a training round or had been made safe prior to being in their possession.

The Allen County Regional Bomb Squad was contacted and that office also contacted the 788th Explosive Ordnance Disposal team from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base due to its being a military ordnance. Both teams responded to Fort Recovery, where a portable X-ray device was used to determine if the device was live, but the scans were inconclusive, according to the release.

Laux and the bomb squad units took the artillery shell to a remote location outside the village where technicians from Wright-Patterson set a remote charge and detonated the device. No one was injured and no property damage resulted from the detonation.

After the detonation, an examination of the area determined that the round had been live.

Also assisting with the situation were the Southwest Mercer Fire Department, St. Henry EMS and the Mercer County Sheriff's Office.