A bomb squad was called out to the home of a deceased Washington state man who had a Cold War-era rocket in his garage, designed to carry a nuclear warhead, authorities said.
The Bellevue Police Department said it received a call from the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday alerting them to a call they received from a Bellevue resident looking to donate the rocket, which had belonged to his deceased neighbor.
According to the museum, the man said his neighbor had originally purchased the rocket from an estate sale. Patrol officers and the bomb squad responded to the residence Thursday and contacted the neighbor who had called the museum.
After they were given access to the rocket, bomb squad officers determined it was a Douglas AIR-2 Genie, previously designated MB-1, which is an unguided air-to-air rocket designed to carry a 1.5 kiloton W25 nuclear warhead.
Officers determined there was no nuclear warhead attached, and there was no fuel in the rocket. Photos shared by the police department show the massive, rusted rocket with markings still visible on the side.
After confirming the object was inert, with no explosive hazard, and confirming the military had not requested its return, officers left the rocket with the neighbor so it could be restored and displayed in a museum.
Story by TMX