WWII rocket unearthed by man using excavator in Florida yard, cops say. He got lucky

Another wayward military projectile has been found in Florida — this time by someone digging in their yard with an excavator.

It was the homeowner who called 911, reporting an apparent World War II explosive in their backyard on Kindlewood Trail in Brooksville, according to Jan. 20 news release. Brooksville is about 50 miles north of Tampa.

Investigators did not reveal whether the excavator struck the missile or just exposed it.

Either way, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office took no chances. The sheriff’s office called the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Team for help removing the rocket — and they called the Explosive Ordnance Disposal team at MacDill Air Force Base, officials said.

“Once both teams were on scene it was learned that the homeowner had dug up the military ordnance with his excavator,” the Citrus County Sheriff’s Office reported. “After several X-Rays and research, it was determined that the ordinance was a World War II practice rocket.

“The rocket was deemed safe to move and MacDill EOD safely removed the rocket and transported it back to Tampa.”

The fate of the rocket was not revealed, and it’s still a mystery how it came to be buried in someone’s yard.

The discovery came just days after a World War I anti-ship personnel round was brought to a pawn shop in North Port, Florida, according to police. The projectile had never been fired.

Traffic was rerouted around the pawn shop until the projectile was taken by the Air Force for safe disposal. Investigators did not report where the pawn shop customer found the projectile.

This story was originally published January 24, 2023 at 7:56 AM with the headline "WWII rocket unearthed by man using excavator in Florida yard, cops say. He got lucky."