Training grenade found at Orchards Goodwill

Employees at Goodwill in Orchards found a realistic-looking training grenade in a box of donated goods Monday morning.

Clark County sheriff’s deputies were called to the store, 9025 N.E. 117th Ave., around 8 a.m. to investigate the suspicious device. Employees told deputies they were unpacking a shipment of donations that had arrived from another store when they found a grenade wrapped in a blanket.

Deputy Steve Fox, an explosives technician, determined that the grenade was an inert training device and not an explosive. The device will be destroyed to prevent a similar scare from happening, the sheriff’s office said.

The Goodwills in the Columbia Willamette territory, which covers Southwest Washington, Northwest Oregon and Central Oregon, get more donations than any other Goodwill territory in North America, said spokeswoman Dale Emanuel.

“With that comes things that aren’t always appropriate,” she said.

Employees get bags and boxes that often aren’t sifted through right away; everything has to be looked through before it’s placed on store shelves. When employees find something that looks dangerous, police are notified, Emanuel said.