Grenade startles home cleanup crew

AURORA,Il

How did a grenade end up in an otherwise unspectacular home in a quiet neighborhood on the far West Side of Aurora?

Neighbors and police were still trying to figure that out Monday evening after a hand grenade was discovered in the home of woman who died in May.

Family members stumbled across the grenade in a satchel while cleaning out the one-story home in the 200 block of Central Avenue.

The relatives took the grenade to the back yard, then called Aurora police. The Aurora cops then called in the Kane County bomb squad, who arrived around 1 p.m.

The commotion caused quite a stir in the neighborhood. Three cop cars. Police tape around the back yard.

Kane County Sgt. Willie Mayes said the bomb squad made the grenade safe so it could be transferred and removed it. Monday evening, officers did not yet know if it was a live grenade.

But with everyone safe, the more intriguing question becomes: Where did it come from?

When cleaning out a loved one's house, you expect to find many things -- family photos, old letters and plenty of mementos. Explosives are a bit more uncommon.

Neighbors said the woman had lived in the house for about 20 years. She was quiet but friendly, and was often seen walking down the street to the store.

She was 81 when she died. Her husband had died many years before, neighbors said.

Was he in the service? Was this a souvenir he brought back, as some veterans did?

Or did she bring it home herself? Neighbors said she was a bit of a collector, but a grenade is a hard thing to pick up at a flea market.

Her house is overgrown with bushes and trees. A dumpster on the driveway and red tape labeled "BIOHAZARD" is stretched across the door.

Monday night, a random collection of knickknacks was lying near the curb, free to anyone who cared to wander up.

The trash/treasures included glass jars, vases, a 1995 Smashing Pumpkins CD, 19 Ray Coniff (and his orchestra and choir) vinyl records, women's leather boots (size 6), a mug with a 1997 calendar on it and a brass bottle opener shaped like a Coke can.

But no clues as to the origins of the grenade.