Updated: Base Bomb Scare Is False Alarm

A man caused a major scare Tuesday when he brought a grenade he had found to the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station in an effort to "return it to the military."

Authorities closed down Seal Beach Boulevard for nearly three hours along with the entrance to the Navy base as the Orange County Sheriff’s Department bomb squad examined the explosive, said Gregg Smith, base spokesman. After X-raying the device, authorities determined it was a not a live grenade.

“It didn’t contain any explosive,” said Smith. It was a WWI German military grenade that had been hollowed out.

The incident began at about 3 p.m., when a man showed up at the pass-and-identification office outside the entrance to the base, said Smith.

“He stated he had found what appeared to be a grenade, and he wanted to return it to the military,” said Smith.

Base personnel instructed him to leave the device on the front steps as the building was evacuated.

By 5:30 p.m., police began reopening Seal Beach Boulevard to traffic.