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Hyde’s wild ride: New documentary features former Box Elder sheriff who captured ‘balloon bomb’ during WWII

The ‘Great Balloon Bomb Invasion’ will stream on Discovery+.

(Photo courtesy of The Leader) Box Elder County Sheriff Warren Hyde poses with his horse in an undated photo. He served for more than three decades in the position and singlehandedly captured a Japanese "balloon bomb" found on Blue Creek Ranch in 1945.

Warren Hyde never served in the military, but his extraordinary effort in a remote part of Box Elder County one day provided key intelligence in stopping a widespread Japanese attack on American soil during World War II.

One morning in February 1945, Hyde, the county sheriff, received a call from Floyd Stohl, a rancher in the Blue Creek area. While heading out to do his morning chores, Stohl spotted a strange-looking contraption that looked like a parachute floating in the air in one of his pastures.

When Stohl described the object to Hyde, it immediately rang a bell in the sheriff’s head. Hyde jumped in his vehicle and raced to the ranch. When he saw the object, he knew what he was dealing with — a weapon known as a “Fu-Go” bomb.

To read more about Warren Hyde, visit The Leader.

This article is published through the Utah News Collaborative, a partnership of news organizations in Utah that aim to inform readers across the state.