One of the two hand grenades found in a Santa Monica townhome complex ahead of the deadly blast that killed three Los Angeles County sheriff’s detectives is currently missing, authorities said Friday.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has determined that one of the two grenades detonated on July 18, “and one of the grenades is unaccounted for at this time,” Sheriff Robert Luna said.
“We conducted a thorough search to locate the second device, but we haven’t found it yet,” he said during a briefing.
The ATF, which is investigating the blast, will also assume “full control into investigating the whereabouts of this other device that is missing,” he added.
According to law enforcement sources, investigators learned one of the grenades was missing when they could only find one of the “spoons” — suggesting only one grenade had exploded at the scene.
The bomb squad retrieved the two hand grenades left behind — apparently by a previous tenant — in an underground parking garage storage unit at the complex at 821 Bay St. on the night of July 17 and took them to the Biscailuz Center Training Academy.
The next day, one of the grenades exploded as the technicians were handling them in the parking lot.
The blast was the single deadliest incident for the department in more than 150 years, killing department veterans Dets. Joshua Kelley-Eklund, Victor Lemus and William Osborn.
Officials searched a boat docked in Marina del Rey on Monday and storage lockers on Tuesday and Wednesday that law enforcement sources told The Times are tied to a person who previously served in the U.S. military.
