New Port Richey Man Finds Grenade on Beach

A 60-year-old New Port Richey man found more than he bargained for when he brought a metal detector to St. Pete Beach Thursday morning.

Clifford Vogan was walking along with his metal detector about 20 feet offshore when he came across what “appeared to be an explosive device in the sand,” a Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office email said.

Vogan alerted authorities who cordoned off a portion of the beach near the Sirata Beach Resort, 5300 Gulf Blvd., around 10 a.m. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office Bomb Squad was called in to inspect the device.

The squad “determined the device to be an inert military device that appeared to have been in the water for some time, as it had barnacles and corrosion around it,” the email said.

It is unclear what else Vogan’s metal detector turned up during his time at the beach. Vogan celebrates his 61st birthday Friday.

Photo Credit: This barnacle-encrusted grenade created quite a stir at St. Pete Beach Thursday morning. Photo courtesy of the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office