"There Is a 'Nuclear Missile' in the New House"… US Police Begin Investigation

Cold War-era Nuclear Missile Debris
Discovered and Reported by New Homeowner During Cleanup

A Cold War-era nuclear missile was discovered in the garage of a house in the United States, prompting local police to launch an investigation. Fortunately, only the missile body was found without the nuclear warhead and fuel, and it was donated to a museum.

[Image source=Bellevue Police, Washington State, USA, X (formerly Twitter) account]

According to the Associated Press on the 5th (local time), the Bellevue Police Department in Washington State began investigating after receiving a report on the 1st that a military missile had been found in the garage of a house across Lake Washington. The missile body was found to be heavily rusted.

After bringing in bomb experts for the investigation, Bellevue Police confirmed that the missile was a Douglas AIR-2 Genie air-to-air missile developed by the U.S. Air Force during the Cold War in the 1950s. This missile was designed to carry a nuclear warhead with a tactical yield of 1.5 kilotons.

The missile was originally developed to intercept Soviet strategic bombers during the Cold War and was introduced to the U.S. military in 1957. Over 3,000 units were produced by 1962, and it could be mounted on aircraft such as the F-89, F-101B, and F-106 fighters. It was retired along with the F-106 fighter in 1988.

Fortunately, at the time of discovery, the missile did not have a nuclear warhead attached, and there was no rocket fuel inside, making it non-explosive. The homeowner who found the missile expressed the intention to donate it to the U.S. Air Force Museum in Ohio, and the museum accepted the donation, notifying the police and taking custody of the missile for exhibition. The U.S. military reportedly did not express any intention to reclaim the missile.

How this missile came to be stored in a residential garage remains a mystery. The previous owner, who was known to have originally purchased the missile, has already passed away. The current homeowner, who moved in after purchasing the house, discovered the missile in the garage and reported it. As a result, the exact provenance of the missile remains unclear.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.