Young treasure hunter unearths World War II-era artillary shell in Pawhuska

A 10-year-old Pawhuska boy found more adventure than he anticipated last week on his first day treasure hunting with his new metal detector.

Wesley Jackson was looking for old coins when he unearthed a large metal object on a hill off Grandview Avenue. Unsure as to what he had found, family members posted a picture of Wesley and the object on Facebook. It wasn’t long before they received numerous messages warning that his “treasure” — which was identified as an old artillary shell.

They were told that the shell might still be “live” and warned to remove it immediately from the house.

Wesley’s grandmother, Dee Dee Wadsworth, contacted the Pawhuska Police Department and Cpl. William McDaniel went to their home to collect the copper shell — which reportedly was about 13 inches tall and weighed around 10 pounds.

PPD Cpl. Rex Wikel said the local police cotacted the Tulsa Bomb Squad, which sent members to town to pick up the ordnance for disposal.

Initial suspicions were that it was a “non-explosive” training shell from decades ago, possibly World War II-era.

“They felt it probably was not active,” said Wikel. “The last I heard, though, it still had not been determined.”