If you saw a large police presence on the Main Street Bridge Sunday afternoon, September 1st, here’s why. A man was magnet fishing from the bridge and pulled in what is believed to be a Civil War era cannonball. Not kidding. Dennis Murray , of Ottawa, pulled the object out of the Marias des Cygnes river, right below the Main Street Bridge. Realizing what he may have, he flagged down an Ottawa Police officer and asked if the police department could verify if it was still explosive. The officer called it in and the Olathe Bomb Squad was called in to investigate. Murray says he has found cannonballs before in Wisconsin.
The cannonball was taken by the Olathe Bomb squad to the law enforcement shooting range on West Second Street to be x-rayed and analyzed. Unfortunately, the there has been no release of information regarding the outcome of the testing done on the cannonball. KOFO will keep you informed as we find out more information.
