Nuclear-capable missile found in man's garage after he tried to donate it to a museum
3 February 2024, 20:10
Police found a nuclear-capable missile inside a man's garage after it was bought in an auction - and he tried to donate it to a museum.
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Police in Bellevue, a settlement near Seattle in the US, were called to a report of a military-grade rocket by the Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, on Wednesday.
The resident had called the museum to attempt to donate the item to the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio, after he bought it in an auction of a neighbours estate.
Bellevue Police Department called out the bomb squad to check that the missile was not a threat to the public.
They ascertained that that was not a threat as it had no rocket fuel inside it.
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The rocket was determined to be an unguided at a missile that is designed to carry a 1.5kt W25 nuclear warhead.
When the bomb-squad were finished, the Bellevue resident was allowed to keep the Douglas AIR-2 Genie missile and continue restoring it.
He then said that he would donate the missile to the Air Force museum when he had finished work on it.
There was no warhead attached to the missile when it was found.
In a nod to the classic Elton John song Rocket Man, Bellevue Police posted on X, formerly Twitter, "We think it's gonna be a long, long time before we get another call like this again."
