Inert nuclear missile found in US man's garage
An old rocket found in a US man's garage is an inert nuclear missile, police in Washington state said, after the bomb squad was sent to investigate the Cold War relic.
On Wednesday, the National Museum of the US Air Force in Ohio called Bellevue police to report they had received an unexpected gift offer.
Police sent a bomb squad to the potential donor's home.
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A rusted, old rocket in a man's garage was confirmed to be an inert nuclear missile. Bellevue Police / KPTV
What they found was a Douglas AIR-2 Genie, an unguided air-to-air rocket which was designed to carry a 1.5 kt W25 nuclear warhead.
However, the bomb squad confirmed there was no warhead attached to the rocket, so said there was never a danger to the community.
The man who owned the rocket, who didn't wish to be identified, told police that he had purchased the rocket from an estate sale.
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Police sent a bomb squad to the man's home. Bellevue Police / KPTV
Since there was no warhead present and the military didn't want the rocket back, police left the weapon with the man to be donated.
Police said there was no need to evacuate Bellevue, home to 150,000 people, and 15km east of Seattle, because officials never suspected a nuclear warhead was present.
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