SPIRIT LAKE - Surprises in the mailbox reached new heights for a Spirit Lake woman Wednesday morning.

When the woman opened her mailbox door at 7:12 a.m. in the 31000 block of Middle Avenue, she found a hand grenade inside.

"She left the front face open and immediately went to call 911," Spirit Lake Police Chief Hutcheson said.

After law enforcement officers, the Spokane Bomb Squad and other emergency personnel responded, a bomb squad robot removed the device and it was revealed that it was a toy.

"Based on my experience (as a K9 handler) overseas, it looked real to me," Hutcheson said, adding that he viewed the device through binoculars. "It didn't have a pin in it, but the spoon was still on it. It was made of hard plastic."

Eight homes in the area were evacuated and some school bus routes were altered during the investigation.

"It was far enough away that we didn't have to evacuate schools," Hutcheson said.

Hutcheson said he wonders if it was children who put the toy in the mailbox because a plastic toy gun was also found in a mailbox in the area.

The owners of the mailbox told police they haven't received any recent threats nor do they have any reason to believe they would be targeted. No suspects have been identified.

Some of the residents in the area were notified of the incident through an automatic emergency notification phone system that they had joined.

"That helped because about half of the people were notified right away," Hutcheson said.

An investigation continues.