Local

Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Farmer's field yields rusty grenade

Gives it to Mounties, who clear the building

By: William Burr

Posted: 08/24/2011 1:00 AM | Comments: 0 (including replies)

A Portage la Prairie-area farmer was tilling his soil Tuesday when his machine whacked an old, rusty hand grenade.

"I hit something hard and I thought it was a stone -- you know sometimes you hit a stone and your machine bounces. And by looking closer, it had all these little lines on it, and I thought 'Well, that ain't no stone,' " said Idzerd Boersma, 43, who grows potatoes and onions just outside the city.

So he descended from his rotovator (the tilling machine) and picked up the thing. He figured that if it didn't explode when he banged it with the rotovator, it was safe to handle. Looking at it up close, he was sure it was a rusted hand grenade, with a lever and a pin.

Boersma drove to the Portage la Prairie RCMP detachment, arriving around 3 p.m. He describes his interaction with the clerk at the front desk: "I said 'I'd like to talk to a police officer.' And she said 'Well what is it about?' ... I showed her the thing in my hand and -- Whoa! Everybody just got a little panicked. And they told me to put it in a room and close the door on it and come back."

RCMP interviewed Boersma about where he found the grenade and then he drove home.

The entire RCMP detachment would soon be evacuated.

Members of the 17 Wing explosive-disposal unit hurried from Winnipeg to Portage to remove the grenade. They were to destroy it at a remote location, RCMP said.

There were no injuries or damages. The detachment was evacuated for about 30 minutes.

Boersma said he has no clue where the weapon came from. He speculated it might have been stolen from a military base many decades ago and then left in the field.

RCMP would like to remind the public not to handle any military ordinance, ammunition or explosives. Notify RCMP or a local police agency and they will arrange for disposal, RCMP said.

william.burr@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition August 24, 2011 A2

(You must be logged in to post your reaction)

Your reaction?

More Local

Undock

You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is register and/or login and you can join the conversation and give your feedback.

The Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010; View the changes. New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.