Scuba diver finds live tear gas grenade in Oklahoma lake

A scuba driver made a surprising find while exploring a lake in Oklahoma, stumbling upon a tear gas grenade that was still live, officials said.

The scuba diver initially called authorities Thursday saying he had "found some type of bomb or smoke grenade" while exploring the depths of the Marietta Landing area of Lake Murray, the Love County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post.

Authorities attended the scene and soon confirmed that the device found was a live CS gas grenade, the sheriff's office said.

The Oklahoma Highway Patrol's bomb squad was called to the scene and also confirmed the device was a live CS grenade. They were able to date the device to somewhere around the early 2000's, the sheriff's office said.

The bomb squad safely collected the grenade and was expected to detonate and destroy it at an offsite location at a later date.

In a photo shared by the sheriff's office the grenade is labeled "M7A3 Riot CS."

The U.S. Army has described the kind of device found as a riot control hand grenade.

"The M7A3 is a CS-filled burning-type grenade. The choking agent is designed to control counterinsurgencies and for other tactical missions. It is a riot-control grenade that may also be used to simulate casualties during training," a U.S. military document on grenades and pyrotechnic signals dated back to August 2021 states.

It was not clear how the live grenade ended up in the lake.

Authorities applauded the scuba diver for contacting deputies about the find.

"This is a great example of a citizen locating something they knew to be dangerous and contacting (authorities) so that it could be disposed of properly," the Love County Sheriff's Office said.

The sheriff's office encouraged others who make similar finds to contact authorities so such devices can be disposed of "in a safe and secure manner."

Chantal Da Silva is a breaking news editor for NBC News Digital based in London.