MANSFIELD –  A contractor cleaning out an abandoned home on Harker Street in Mansfield made a frightening discovery Saturday that led to an investigation by the Ashland County Bomb Squad.

Chelsea Stuhldreher, of Page Asbestos Services, says she was cleaning out the home at around 1:30 p.m. when she found the object that appeared to possibly be a WWII mortar shell.

“I wasn’t sure exactly what it was but I sent the pictures to others and they thought it was real,” Stuhldreher told the FOX 8 I-Team.

She said officials were called to determine if what she found was dangerous.

Officials with the bomb squad took X-rays and around 4:30 p.m. they determined the mortar shell was not “live” and not a danger.

“It was a real mortar with shrapnel in it. It just wasn’t live” Stuhldreher said. “They are taking it to a location where they can detonate it and remove the shrapnel.”

Mansfield police and fire departments also responded to the scene.