JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (WSVN) — A routine day in Matthew Sims’ Jacksonville backyard took a turn when his dog’s keen sense of smell led to the discovery of a decades-old military weapon buried underneath the ground.
The news of this discovery exploded arpunf the neighborhood and now the big question is: How did it end up in Sims’s backyard?
“I think, ‘OK, is this live?’ You panic and then you drop it,” said Sim, recounting his thought process when he found the explosive in his backyard.
The discovery occurred while Sims was in his backyard when he noticed something protruding from th ground.
“You couldn’t tell what it was until you started pulling it up,” he said. “Once I got it halfway out, I was like, ‘Oh, I know what this is. Let me gently put this back down.'”
According to the police report, Sims’s dog was digging in the backyard and helped discover it, but found more than just a bone.
“It was like buried at least six inches deep. Half of it or two inches of it was up,” Sims noted.
As the bomb squad headed towards the house, authorities began evacuating residents from the area before removing the munition.
Neighbor Carla Smith wasn’t concerned.
“We just watched,” Smith shared. “I wasn’t scared because I’ve been around people who have found artifacts in the land. To me, it was interesting to watch. They did their thing and they were out of here in minutes.”
Sims says he’s glad he and his dog were able to locate the object and have it disposed of.
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