Sacramento County family shaken after child discovers live military mortar in backyard

An 8-year-old found a live 1953 mortar in a Carmichael yard. Deputies evacuated neighbors and safely removed it.

CARMICHAEL, Calif. — An 8-year-old boy is back to playing soccer in his Carmichael backyard, just one day after finding what authorities later confirmed was a live military mortar buried in the same yard.

“Like a bottle of missiles,” said Mateo.

That’s how Mateo described the object he found while playing.

“My son found it on that side,” said Mirna Bermudez, Mateo’s mother, who spoke in Spanish while pointing to an area along the edge of the yard. “This is the hole.”

Bermudez said the object was partially buried. Her older son noticed something unusual and called her over.

“The older kid saw it was something weird, and he called me. I took a photo and looked for it on Google,” said Bermudez.

Realizing the potential danger, Bermudez called 911 and rushed her children inside.

“I did think it was something dangerous, and that’s why it scared me about how he was able to dig it out, and pull it out,” said Bermudez.

Responding deputies with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office determined the object was a live mortar round.

“It was determined to be a live 81 millimeter mortar round,” said Sgt. Edward Igoe, Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office spokesperson.

Igoe said the munition discovered at a home on Marconi Ave Sunday afternoon dates back to 1953.

“That munition itself has a capability to send frag out 1,000 feet,” said Sgt. Igoe.

The discovery prompted evacuations of nearby residents for about four hours.

“It was pretty crazy,” said neighbor Carson Law, who has lived next door for five years and did not evacuate.

“Thank God that there was no kids harmed, and thankfully nothing went off,” said Law. “I am just glad the area is safe and that this was discovered before anything crazy happened.”

Authorities safely removed and destroyed the mortar with assistance from Air Force explosive ordnance disposal teams from Beale Air Force Base.

For Bermudez and her family, who moved into the home two months ago, the fear hasn’t fully gone away.

“The truth is that right now I am scared that there could be other explosives in the yard,” said Bermudez. “They are scared, the kids are scared of exploring in the yard.”

The sheriff’s office urges anyone who encounters a suspicious object not to touch it, to leave the area immediately and call law enforcement.