A Polk County man who bought a storage unit in Bartow during a live auction was surprised when he found out what was inside.
The new owner of the storage unit thought he was paying for a unit filled with treasure, but wound up with a hand grenade instead.
The Polk County Sheriff's office, bomb squad and Fire Marshal were all called out to the scene to assess the grenade.
It’s the scene Marley Sasnett rolled up on this morning with her two movers attempting to unload her truck.
“I didn’t really have a reaction," said Sasnett. "Except I couldn’t believe there was a live grenade in a storage locker!”
The new owner of the storage unit didn’t want to comment, but the manager at New Highlands Storage, Juan Perez, said the man just purchased the unit on Tuesday.
“We sold the unit at [the] auction yesterday where the person who bought the unit found a case that says, 'Caution live grenade,'” said Perez.
It’s something that may not be as uncommon as one may think.
“In the storage industry you see a lot of stuff," Perez said. "Anywhere from fire arms to even body remains.”
The Polk County swooped in to remove and dispose of the grenade once the discovery was made.
The state Fire Marshal said the grenade had been modified and wasn’t safe to be on the streets.
Deputies said they didn’t want to take any chances so they swept this entire area for other potentially explosive devices. That search came up empty.
Law enforcement officials are investigating.
The original owner of the storage unit could face charges.